Ochsner Children's Hospital

Ochsner Children's Hospital is Louisiana's highest-ranked pediatric hospital, operating as a specialized medical center within Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. It offers more than 30 pediatric specialty and subspecialty areas, ranging from congenital heart surgery and organ transplantation to neonatology, gastroenterology, and pediatric oncology. Ochsner Children’s serves children from birth through age 18 across the Gulf South.

The hospital holds several nationally recognized capabilities that no other facility in the region can match:

• The only pediatric heart transplant program in the Gulf South
• Louisiana's largest pediatric liver transplant program
• A Level IV NICU and Level I PICU — both the highest care levels available in the state
• Top-50 national rankings from U.S. News & World Report in Pediatric Cardiology & Heart
• Surgery and Pediatric Gastroenterology & GI Surgery

The Gayle and Tom Benson Ochsner Children’s Hospital is under construction and will expand access to leading treatments for more children in Louisiana and across the Gulf South. 

Yes. Ochsner Children's has been ranked No. 1 in Louisiana and among the nation's top 50 children's hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for five consecutive years. It is also recognized by Newsweek as one of America's Best Children's Hospitals, with specialty-level rankings in pediatric cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonology and neonatology.

These rankings are based on objective, third-party evaluation of clinical outcomes, nurse staffing levels, infection prevention protocols and specialized care infrastructure — not self-reported claims. No other children's hospital in Louisiana holds an equivalent independently verified national ranking.

Ochsner Children's is the only hospital in the Gulf South to perform pediatric heart transplants and is home to Louisiana's largest pediatric liver transplant program. Families in Louisiana whose children require these high-complexity organ transplants do not need to travel out of state to access nationally recognized surgical expertise.

The transplant program is supported by a dedicated Pediatric Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit for post-operative cardiac care, and a collaborative liver transplant team that provides both surgical and holistic mental health support for young patients and their families throughout the entire care journey.

Ochsner Children's has performed five documented Gulf South surgical firsts that no other regional facility can claim. These milestones reflect decades of clinical leadership in high-complexity pediatric surgery and remain active, ongoing capabilities — not historical achievements.

The five Gulf South firsts performed at Ochsner Children's are:

1. Pediatric heart transplant — still the only facility in the region performing this procedure
2. Pediatric liver transplant — now the largest such program in Louisiana
3. In-utero surgery — fetal surgical intervention before birth
4. Ventricular assist device implantation in pediatric patients
5. Pediatric valve replacement surgery

A Level IV NICU is the highest level of neonatal intensive care available in the United States, equipped to manage the most critically ill and premature newborns, including those requiring complex surgical interventions, advanced life support, and subspecialty consultation on-site. Ochsner Children's operates the only Level IV NICU in Louisiana, meaning it is the highest-acuity newborn care option available in the state.

For families whose newborn requires more than a community hospital can provide, a Level IV NICU offers:

• On-site pediatric surgical teams for immediate neonatal intervention
• Advanced respiratory support and hemodynamic monitoring
• Subspecialty access to neonatology, pediatric cardiology, neurology and surgery within a single care setting
• Seamless transfer protocols for infants escalated from lower-level NICUs across the region

Ochsner Children's operates more than 25 pediatric care locations across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, making specialty access available to families across the Gulf South. Locations are across rural and suburban communities. Ochsner has children's health centers in New Orleans, Metairie, Baton Rouge, Slidell and Covington, Louisiana, and Meridian, Mississippi, among others.

To find a pediatric specialist near you:

• Call 504-842-3900 to schedule directly at Ochsner Children's in New Orleans
• Call 1-866-624-7637 for general scheduling or virtual visit requests
• Use Ochsner's online physician finder to filter by specialty and location
• Note that many locations offer same-day appointments, extended hours, and telehealth visits for faster access

Ochsner Children's supports a smooth transition from pediatric to adult-focused care through its integrated, multi-state health system, allowing adolescents and young adults to transfer to a doctor who treats adults without losing access to their medical history or established care relationships. Ochsner's integrated network means the transition requires only scheduling a new appointment.

Key benefits of transitioning care within the Ochsner system include:

• Immediate medical record access: The receiving adult provider has full access to your child's complete care history from day one
• Specialty continuity: Ochsner's adult specialty programs, including cardiology, gastroenterology and transplant medicine, mirror the pediatric programs your child may have relied on
• Adult Congenital Heart Disease program: A dedicated program exists specifically for patients who received congenital heart care as children and now require adult-focused management