UVA Children's Hospital

Violet Smith was born with congenital heart defects — she wasn’t getting enough blood from her heart to her lungs. The family’s local children’s hospital, Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, took care of Violet for six months.

However, her condition got worse. Because of a partnership between CHKD and UVA, Violet’s hospital encouraged her family to transfer her to UVA.

The UVA team first implanted a double Berlin heart, which takes over a child’s heart function when the heart is too weak. But that was only a temporary solution: Violet needed a heart transplant.

Babies with maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) are unable to process amino acids, giving their urine the smell of maple syrup. Left untreated, MSUD can cause significant physical and neurological damage.

When Conor was born with this condition, doctors told his parents he needed a liver transplant. They put Conor on a waiting list at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. However, Conor was also added to UVA’s waiting list, thanks to a new partnership between the two hospitals.

Within just a few weeks, Conor’s mom got a phone call: UVA had a liver available.

The 2017-2018 “Best Children’s Hospital” guide from U.S. News & World Report highlights four nationally ranked specialties at UVA.

The four ranked specialties are neonatology (30th), diabetes and endocrinology (34th), orthopedics (tied for 41st) and cardiology and heart surgery (44th).

“These national awards reflect how hard the entire team here at UVA Children’s Hospital works to provide the best care for all of our patients and their families,” says James Nataro, MD, physician-in-chief at UVA Children’s Hospital.