The children’s hospitals of UC Health were recognized Tuesday for their excellence in various specialties within pediatric care by U.S. News and World Report.

The annual, nationwide clinical survey ranked UC Davis Children’s Hospital, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco in the top 50 of the nearly 200 institutions evaluated, according to a university press release.

U.S. News and World Report took into consideration pediatric specialties in cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery and urology, according to the U.S. News and World Report website.

This year’s evaluation introduced a new system of regional placement, as U.S. News and World Report had recognized the importance of location for families, according to Ben Harder, U.S. News and World Report managing editor and chief of health analysis. The UC hospitals were noted as being among the top 10 children’s hospitals in California.

“During the early part of this year, we heard from children’s hospitals that many of them were not doing their normal activity because they were serving as (COVID-19) overflow hospitals for adult hospitals,” Harder said. “In many cases, they were not treating children as they normally would because they were trying to keep those children at home.”

Rankings were determined using data largely from the previous year. U.S. News and World Report also utilized current information from third-party organizations that certified the hospitals as a way to monitor comparisons, according to Harder.

Individual physicians were also interviewed about their methodologies for handling patients.

UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital is ranked as the state’s third-best children’s hospital, alongside Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, by ranking in the top 50 for pediatric specialties nationwide, according to the U.S. News and World Report website. The hospital’s highest national ranking was fourth place for its neonatology services.

“Over the past year, our teams have risen to a new challenge in serving the children of our communities,” said Mark Laret, UCSF Health president and chief executive officer, in a press release. “Their efforts have been tremendous, and we are so proud that they have been recognized once again for the excellence they provide every day.”

UCLA Mattel’s Children’s Hospital was among the country’s best in neonatology, nephrology, cancer, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, neurology and orthopedics and urology.

UC Davis achieved recognition for its work in neonatology, nephrology, orthopedics and urology.

According to Harder, U.S. News and World Report plans to emphasize aspects of health equity and behavioral and mental health in adolescents and young children in its future evaluations, due to concerns for mental health becoming more apparent during the pandemic.

“We continue to expand our rankings to look at other areas of care that are relevant to the families we serve,” Harder said.