UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital recognized for elite healthcare
Press release from UF Health
BY BILL LEVESQUE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Three medical specialties at University of Florida Health Shands Children’s Hospital were rated the best in Florida and in the top 50 nationally in the U.S. News & World Report annual ranking of the nation’s pediatric hospitals released today. Three additional specialties also placed in the top 50 nationwide.
UF Health continues its long-standing position as a top state and regional destination for families throughout Florida and the Southeast.
Specialties recognized as the best in Florida are cardiology and heart surgery (ranked No. 15 nationally), pulmonology and lung surgery (No. 22) and cancer (No. 36), the 2025-26 Best Children’s Hospitals ranking shows.
Also placed among the top 50 specialties nationally are neonatology (No. 38), diabetes and endocrinology (No. 42) and pediatric behavioral health. U.S. News does not numerically rank behavioral health, except to note that a program is in the top 50 nationally.
“UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital is more than a hospital,” said Michael D. Holmes, M.S.A., UF Health’s senior vice president and Greater Gainesville regional president. “It’s a place where our medical professionals and staff care for a family’s child as if they were their own. It’s a spirit of excellent care delivered with compassion by talented caregivers giving their best.”
Rashmin C. Savani, M.B., Ch.B., chair of the UF College of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief of UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, said the hospital’s doctors and nurses treat the most complex cases across a sweeping range of specialties.
A deep well of multidisciplinary care, he said, can be tapped for any patient, ensuring seamless treatment in a family’s most trying hour.
“Our caregivers and staff should be proud of this achievement,” Savani said. “Our team works every day to offer compassionate and skilled care in the many communities we serve. It’s about a deep commitment, renewed daily, to bring expertise and the latest medical technologies and treatments to any child for any disease or condition, however rare or common. We want the families who come to UF Health to have peace of mind that their children are in the most capable hands.”
He said excellent care does more than heal — it changes lives.
The U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospitals rankings are based on a mix of hard data and expert opinion.
U.S. News gathers healthcare data from more than 100 medical centers through a detailed survey that looks at measures such as patient safety, infection prevention, and nurse staffing. In 2024-2025, only 88 children’s hospitals were ranked among the nation’s top 50 in at least one of the 11 pediatric specialties evaluated.