hospital honors

Dallas children's hospital declared one of nation's best by U.S. News

Dallas is home to one of the best pediatric hospitals in the Southwest.

Children's Health Dallas/Facebook

Dallas has many renowned hospitals providing exceptional care, and now a local medical center has earned national acclaim for its top-notch healthcare for children and adolescents.

Children's Health Dallas ranks No. 2 among Texas' children's hospitals in U.S. News and World Report's 2026-2027 Best Children's Hospitals. It is also the No. 2 best pediatric hospital in the Southwest region.

Each year, U.S. News surveys more than 100 children's hospitals and thousands of pediatric specialists to determine it's Best Children's Hospitals rankings. The winning hospitals excel at various factors, such as "clinical outcomes, compliance with established best practices, and level and quality of hospital resources directly related to patient care."

Out of the 90 total children's hospitals selected across 34 states and Washington, D.C., only six were based in Texas.

"For two decades, U.S. News has helped guide families to top-tier pediatric care," said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, in a release. “Finding the right medical team for a rare diagnosis or complex surgery can be overwhelming, and U.S. News’ annual evaluation of the Best Children’s Hospitals provides a clear starting point for parents and referring pediatricians alike."

Children's Health Dallas ranked as the No. 1 hospital in the U.S. for pediatric Orthopedics, and it earned top-10 rankings for its pediatric Cardiology and Heart Surgery (No. 5) and Urology (No. 10) specialties.

The hospital also earned top-50 ranks in eight more nationally ranked specialties:

No. 15 – Neonatology
No. 17 – Neurology and Neurosurgery
No. 17 – Cancer
No. 20 – Gastroenterology & GI Surgery
No. 22 – Pulmonology & Lung Surgery
No. 26 – Nephrology
No. 35 – Diabetes & Endocrinology
"Top 50" Best Children's Hospitals for Behavioral Health

Elsewhere in North Texas, Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth ranked as the 6th best pediatric hospital in the Southwest. Cook Children's earned top-50 rankings in the following specialties: Diabetes & Endocrinology (No. 36), Cancer (No. 41), Neurology & Neurosurgery (No. 44), Cardiology & Heart Surgery (No. 47), and "Top 50" in Behavioral & Mental Health.

The best children's hospital in Texas
Texas Children's Hospital in Houston reigns as the No. 1 pediatric hospital in the Lone Star State and in the Southwest, and it was the only Texas hospital to be named in U.S. News' national Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll list for 2026-2027.

Texas Children's also leads as the No. 1 best hospital in the U.S. in two pediatric specialties — Cardiology and Heart Surgery, and Diabetes and Endocrinology. It earned top-five acclaim in seven more nationally ranked specialties: Nephrology (No. 2); Pulmonology and Lung Surgery (No. 2); Urology (No. 2); Neurology and Neurosurgery (No. 3); Gastroenterology and GI Surgery (No. 5); Neonatology (No. 5); and Orthopedics (No. 5).

The hospital also ranked as the country's 12th best pediatric cancer hospital, and it's one of the top 50 Best Children's Hospitals for Behavioral Health in the U.S.

Other high-performing Texas pediatric hospitals include MD Anderson's Children's Cancer Hospital and Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, and Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin.

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Landing Soon

New air taxi network to land at major Dallas-Fort Worth airports in 2027

Courtesy photo

Archer will launch air taxi networks across Texas in 2027.

California-based aerospace company Archer Aviation is bringing its air-taxi system to the “Texas triangle” of Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin in 2027.

The zero-emission electric air taxi networks will use Archer’s Midnight air taxi to “turn 60- to 90-minute drives to major airports, business districts and major destinations into 10- to 20-minute flights,” the company said in a news release. Archer plans to begin flights in the Texas triangle next year.

The Midnight air taxi is an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. It can carry four passengers and a pilot and is designed for consecutive flights of about 20 miles.

Archer cites the Texas triangle as one of the busiest and fastest-growing “megaregions” in the country, due to its proximity to coastal regions, major airports, and a number of business districts.

“Texas is setting the bar for America’s leadership in the next generation of aviation,” Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer Aviation, said in the release. “Our planned networks will make the benefits of electric air taxis real for Texans — trading hours in traffic for minutes in the air, while connecting the biggest airports, business districts and sporting hubs in ways that America’s largest megaregion needs to grow.”

Archer Chief Commercial Officer Nikhil Goel described the air taxi experience to CW Houston as “100 times quieter than a helicopter for the price of an Uber Black.” He added that the air taxis are a combination of a helicopter, a small airplane, and a drone.

The Dallas-Fort Worth network is slated to include Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field, Addison Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport, Fort Worth Meacham International Airport, and Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, plus major business hubs like Frisco Station.

In Houston, Archer’s air taxi network will aim to connect George Bush Intercontinental, William P. Hobby, and Sugar Land Regional Airport with downtown destinations and Galveston.

In Austin, it plans to link Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Austin Executive Airport with the F1 Circuit Helipad at the Circuit of the Americas. Archer debuted its Midnight aircraft at the F1 Prix in the Fan Zone and the F1 Paddock at COTA.

Archer is working with state and local partners to develop charging infrastructure and plans to pursue Texas operations through the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. It recently completed its "No Roads" flight tour, which included multiple flights over the San Francisco Bay, and flew to seven cities over three days.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.com.

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