Recognition and Honors
Honored for excellence in pediatric care
Riley Children’s Health is honored to be nationally recognized for pediatric care. The skilled healthcare professionals, innovative clinical trials and advanced equipment and techniques at Riley Children's all serve one purpose: to improve the health of children.
We are nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report
Riley Children's Health is honored to be ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report. In 2024-25, we are ranked in 11 out of 11 pediatric specialties. We are also recognized as the #1 ranked children's hospital in Indiana.
The best physicians in Indiana are at Riley Children’s Health.
Your child will always be in good hands when seeing a physician at Riley Children's. More than 90 percent of Indiana’s top doctors practice here, according to Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. Castle Connolly has committed itself to the identification of top primary care and specialty physicians across the country for more than two decades. It bases its selections on peer nominations and the research of its physician-led staff.
Level 1 Children's Surgery Center
Riley Hospital for Children is designated a Level I Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
As the highest distinction, Level I Children's Surgery Centers can provide the most comprehensive surgical care to infants and children - including those with some of the most complex conditions.
Designated Platinum Level Center of Excellence
Riley Children's Health is recognized as a Platinum Level Center of Excellence.
A designated Center of Excellence has demonstrated extraordinary achievement in the following three categories:
- Excellence in promoting the mission, activities, and vision of ELSO;
- Excellence in patient care by using the highest quality measures, processes, and structures based upon evidence; and
- Excellence in training, education, collaboration, and communication supporting ELSO guidelines that contributes to a healing environment for families, patients and staff.
Riley at IU Health provides ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) or ECLS (Extracorporeal Life Support) to support failing organ systems in infants and children. ECMO, or ECLS, is one of the most advanced forms of life support available to patients experiencing acute failure of the cardio-respiratory system. ECMO or ECLS allows time for the patient’s lungs or heart to heal over time by using a heart-lung machine to oxygenate the blood outside the body.
Our nursing excellence puts us in elite company.
Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health is among an elite group of hospitals to have achieved Magnet status, a national designation recognizing excellence in nursing services and clinical care. The recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center is a seal of approval for quality nursing care. It means you can be assured that at Riley at IU Health, the nurses who care for your child love their work and know how to perform to the highest standards.
Fewer than 7 percent of U.S. hospitals achieve Magnet status. We’ve held the designation since 2006. Being a Magnet hospital means adhering to a rigorous set of nursing standards and committing to continual improvement. Hospitals that achieve this honor consistently show better patient outcomes.
To be considered for the honor, hospitals must excel in 14 areas known as the Forces of Magnetism. Among them are:
- Quality of nursing leadership.
- Management style.
- Quality of care.
- Quality improvement.