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The article presents multiple lists of top 30 children's hospitals within the United States, classified by 10 different specialty areas including cancer, heart surgery, and neonatology.

The article presents a profile of Cincinnati Children's Hospital and its care program for children with cystic fibrosis. Introductory details are given overviewing the symptoms, necessary treatments, and demanding nature of the disease. The hospital's self-confrontation with its quality of service to cystic fibrosis patients is then described, noting its rapid improvement after applying several reforming principles. The beneficial practices which the hospital embraced are listed, including evidence-based medicine, collaboration and learning with other medical centers, and the adoption and management of electronic records.

The article presents multiple lists of the top 152 hospitals within the United States, classified by 16 different specialty areas including diabetes and endocrinology, ear, nose and throat, and gastroenterology. Additional Information is provided describing the process by which the journal researched over 5,000 hospitals in the nation, the definitions of its evaluative terms, and the importance of accurately comparing different strengths and weaknesses in medical service centers. Trends in hospital care and quality of service are also discussed. INSET: The Honor Roll.

This article explains the process by which the nursing homes in an article in this issue were chosen and how they were rated. The article also explains how readers can use the ratings to compare nursing homes to choose the best one suited for their purpose. A list of 11 nursing homes across the U.S. that have met the difficult rating standards is also provided. INSETS: Honor Roll;The Troubled Histories of Special-Focus Facilities;The Troubled Histories of Special-Focus Facilities.

The article discusses the strategy for ranking American insurance plans by "U.S. News & World Report" and managed care's accrediting organization National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Insurance plans were evaluated in the areas of member satisfaction, prevention and treatment. The author reports that consumers should be careful when selection an unaccredited plan, which may provide poor quality of care.

The article discusses the rankings of the 2009 "U.S. News" Honor Roll for the best children's hospitals in the U.S. which was determined by several criteria including reputation, infection prevention rate, and patient volume. A list of hospitals is presented which includes the Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado, the Children's Hospital Boston in Massachusetts, and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles in California.

The article discusses the rankings of the 2009 "U.S. News" Honor Roll for the best hospitals in the U.S. which was determined by several criteria including reputation, mortality rate, and patient safety. A list of hospitals is presented which includes Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

This article discusses American medical tourists, people who opt to receive surgical procedures overseas in countries such as India, Thailand and Singapore because of the cost savings. The interest of insurance companies and health care providers in the service because of potential cost savings, is discussed, as are issues of liability and hospital accreditation by the U.S. based Joint Commission International.

The article discusses the integrative medicine called touch therapy. This healing touch is supposed to restore balance to the energy field that practitioners believe surrounds the human body with a series of hand movements and massage around or on the patient's body. The Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, offers this therapy. INSETS: TOUCH THERAPY;ACUPUNCTURE;YOGA;REIKI

A photo essay which documents four-year-old Texan Makenna Franks, who has had four open-heart surgeries, is presented.

The article examines the events and causes leading up to the shootings at Virginia Tech. University officials are reexamining their practices in identifying and treating mentally ill students. Gunman Seung Hui Cho's mental condition and behavior had been questioned since his high school years in Chantilly, Va. Where he was continuously bullied for his shy personality. The article also questions whether Cho's culture played a role in his refusal to seek treatment.

The article discusses the occasion when it is a good idea to seek out the best medical care available at hospitals that specialize in innovative treatments and medical research. Sick children, high risk patients, patients who need intensive care, and conditions that can be treated with new technologies are all reasons to seek out the best hospitals.

The article discusses how the magazine chose its top hospitals. Institutions are ranked by specialty using data and reputation among other specialists. Scores are separated into three major categories, reputation, mortality and a collection of other factors. Hospitals are ranked by category, including cancer, digestive disorders, ear, nose and throat, endocrinology, gynecology, heart and heart surgery, kidney disease, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, respiratory disorders, and urology.

The article presents a photoessay on the burn unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Physicians, surgeons, nurses and therapists work there and at the Shriners Burns Hospital in Boston to help patients survive and recover from the traumatic injuries. Skin grafts, artificial wraps and antibiotics help stave off infection while patients heal.

Discusses the performance of surgery on older patients. Difference in the modern day treatment of the elder compared to 10-15 years ago; Story of one patient, Merle Frieder, who had several surgeries to stich in new blood vessels in his legs; Details of the Cleveland Clinic hospital which does many surgeries on older patients; Average age of open-heart patients at New York-Presbyterian's Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan by 2002; Percent of elder open-heart patients who survive the critical period of 30 days after surgery; Various studies done on surgery on older people.

Focuses on kids sports and the competitive nature of parents. How kid sports has affected family life; Description of bad experiences involving parents at their children's games; Effort of Cal Ripken Jr. and Fred Engh in making sports more about the kids than competition; History of sports for kids; Need for coaches to be trained and sensitized; Description of the National Alliance for Youth Sports created by Engh and the Positive Coaching Alliance; Increase in the dropout rate of children in team sports; Pressure that is put on kids who play sports; Physiological effect of playing sports at too young an age.

Discusses research into the causes and treatment of heart disease. Outlook for new drugs and technology, including implanting an artificial heart valve without surgery; Clinical trials using intravascular ultrasound to find plaques; Genetic influence in the risk for sudden death and heart disease; The outlook for using stem cells in therapy; Decline in deaths from heart attacks; Increased mortality from heart failure; The gender gap in cardiovascular deaths.

Evaluates four Web sites for health information on their timeliness, credibility, intended audience, scope of content, and whether they have an agenda linked to the money supporting the operation. The pros and cons of WebMD, eDiets, the National Institutes of Health, and MSN Fitness & Recreation; Scoring by comScore Networks' Media Metrix company.

Discusses the many factors that contribute to the risk of heart disease. Impact of high levels of cholesterol and blood pressure on patients that are prone to heart disease; Problems such as physical inactivity and obesity; Percentages of heart-related deaths according to a study at Northwestern University's medical school; Definition of risky blood pressure; Difficulty associated with identifying those who are at risk for heart disease; Consideration of a list of risky behaviors and conditions by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); Ways to prevent diabetes, osteoporosis, and breast and colon cancers. INSETS: A DO-IT-YOURSELF RISK CALCULATOR;SEARCHING THE BLOOD FOR WARNINGS OF HEARTBREAK.

Examines how the national organ-transplant system played a major role in the death of Jesica Santillán, the victim of a medical mistake. Death of Santillán at Duke University Medical Center when her blood type and the donor's did not match; The growing problem of preventable hospital errors; Background on Santillán's heart-lung transplant; How the blame fell most heavily on surgeon James Jaggers; Sequence of events that led to Santillán's death.

Reports on computed tomography (CT), walk-in CT scanning centers in the United States, and the idea that scanning has the potential to change behavior. Mention of a study which used electron-beam computed tomography (EBCT) heart scan as part of the annual physical exams in hopes of creating a 'teachable moment' for patients; Discussion of the effectiveness of lung scans and colonoscopy in diagnosing disease.

Very soon, a test for heart disease that measures C-reactive protein (CRP) will become as commonplace and valuable as a cholesterol check. The appearance of CRP occurs as a result of inflammation caused by a cold or a gum infection, or after you cut yourself or have surgery. Inflammation is now believed by most heart researchers to be the process behind most cardiovascular disease. An eight-year study of nearly 28,000 women, published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that CRP foretold heart attacks and strokes better than levels of unhealthy cholesterol did. Combining tests of both cholesterol and CRP, says lead author Paul Ridker, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, would have immense predictive power and impact. Peter Toth, a family practitioner, counseled patient Marian Boesen on diet, exercise, and weight but also put her immediately on aspirin, which may lower inflammation in heart disease the way it does for sore joints. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association agreed to issue joint guidelines on measuring and using CRP, exactly what primary-care doctors and cardiologists in offices and clinics need. A study in the current issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology shows a reduction in CRP of about 30 percent for men who went from sedentary to walking 30 minutes five times a week, even if the men didn't lose weight. A key study remains undone: If a CRP test has independent value for predicting heart disease, then people with good cholesterol levels but high CRP levels should have fewer cardiovascular events if they bring down their CRP. No one argues that CRP should be the only index of potential heart disease, or even that cholesterol and CRP are enough.

Reports on minimally invasive surgery, also called minimal-access surgery or keyhole surgery, which use small openings rather than long incisions. Conditions which are treated through this method, including pectus excavatum, or funnel chest; Role of Donald Nuss in developing the innovative surgery; Benefits to this surgery, including less scarring and less pain; Importance of surgeons' experience; Risk of complications; Assistance of robots in performing the surgery. INSETS: Two ways to fix a deformed chest;A chest-popping bar.

Discusses trends in patent licensing in the United States. Role of independent inventors in the industry; Role of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; Role of corporations in applying for patents; Mention of various inventions.

Examines the difficulties in comparing the costs of attending colleges. Complexity of financial aid in the United States; How colleges come up with different cost figures; Reasons for the confusion, including the formulas used in need analysis; Consequences of the erratic practices; Ground rules gleaned from discussions with financial aid officers.

Details the living-donor liver transplant (LDLT) operation at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York between friends, Vincent Betts and Harvey Davis. Background on Davis and his illness with hepatitis C; Reason that Betts donated part of his liver to be transplanted; Controversy surrounding the adult-to-adult LDLT procedure; Hospitals doing transplants, including kidney-pancreas and lung; Issue of transplant centers not being required to submit information about death and complications to a central registry in the United States.

Offers a question and answer format to give information about financial aid applications for United States colleges and universities. Topics of applying to an expensive school, division between the admissions and financial aid departments, and negotiating a deal with the college; Advice on getting the most out of the financial aid formulas used by colleges; Limits on student financial aid packages. INSET: Retying the knot? Read this first, by Margaret Loftus.

Focuses on technological advances in the treatment of heart disease in the United States. The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the detection of coronary disease; Methods of treating blocked coronary arteries, including angioplasty and radiation treatments; Alternative techniques of bypass surgery; The growth of new arteries, known as angiogenesis; Trial procedures which involve punching holes in the heart with laser beams.