Children's Medical Center Dallas is the flagship facility of
Children's Health Children's Health may refer to:
* Children's Health, a magazine formerly published by Rodale, Inc.
* Children's Health (health care system)
Children's Health is a pediatric health care system in North Texas anchored by two hospitals, Children's M ...
, a nationally ranked
pediatric acute care teaching hospital
A teaching hospital or university hospital is a hospital or medical center that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities a ...
located in
Southwestern Medical District
The Southwestern Medical District is an area or neighborhood located immediately to the northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas. It consists of of medical-related facilities between I-35E and The Dallas North Tollway.
The medical center includes m ...
,
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, US. The hospital has 496 pediatric beds and is affiliated with the
University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a Public university, public Academic health science centre, academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 23,000 employees, more than 3,000 ...
. It provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens and young adults aged 0–21 throughout Texas and surrounding regions. It sometimes treats adults who require pediatric care as well. It has an
ACS designated
level 1 pediatric trauma center, one of five in Texas. The hospital also has affiliations with the adjacent
Parkland Memorial Hospital
Parkland Memorial Hospital is a public hospital located in Dallas, Texas. It is the main hospital of the Parkland Health & Hospital System and serves as Dallas County's public hospital. It is located within the Southwestern Medical Distri ...
.
Children's Medical Center Dallas is the main hospital campus of
Children's Health Children's Health may refer to:
* Children's Health, a magazine formerly published by Rodale, Inc.
* Children's Health (health care system)
Children's Health is a pediatric health care system in North Texas anchored by two hospitals, Children's M ...
, the only academic healthcare system in
Dallas-Fort Worth dedicated solely to the comprehensive care of children from birth to age 21. Children's Health started with just the Dallas location, but has grown to include
Children's Medical Center Plano
Children's Medical Center Plano is a children's hospital located in Plano, Texas, USA. It provides pediatric healthcare for children from birth to age 21. As a branch of the Children's Health (health care system), Children's Health system, it off ...
as well as several other pediatric specialty, primary care and urgent care centers located throughout
North Texas
North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...
. It is one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the US.
History
Children's Medical Center Dallas traces its origins to summer 1913, when a group of
nurses
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
organized an open-air clinic on the lawn of the
old Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The original clinic was known as the Dallas Baby Camp and treated infants up to age 3.
The nurses decided that children received better care when it was focused only on them. In 1930, the Dallas Baby Camp grew into the Bradford Hospital for Babies, which merged with Children's Hospital of Texas and Richmond Freeman Memorial Clinic in 1948 to form what is now known as Children's Medical Center of Dallas.
It has been affiliated with UT Southwestern Medical Center since 1964.
In 1967, administrative structures strengthened and the new campus was opened at its current location.
In 2014, it expanded into Children's Health, a system dedicated to providing all types of care for children, as well as public education about health and wellness, across its several hospitals, specialty centers and pediatric clinics throughout North Texas.
Location and features

Located at 1935 Medical District Drive in the
Southwestern Medical District
The Southwestern Medical District is an area or neighborhood located immediately to the northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas. It consists of of medical-related facilities between I-35E and The Dallas North Tollway.
The medical center includes m ...
of Dallas, the hospital is licensed for 490 beds and recorded more than 460,000 patient encounters in 2018. It has 16 large, technologically advanced operating rooms, a 47-bed level 4 neonatal intensive care unit and offers expertise in more than 50 pediatric specialties and the highest level of trauma care in North Texas as a pediatric level I
trauma center
A trauma center, or trauma centre, is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. The term "trauma center" may be used incorr ...
.
Since 2024, the hospital has been undergoing a $5 Billion expansion, which will move the main building on to campus and adjacent to
Clements University Hospital at UT Southwestern in 2031, increasing size and capacity to meet the needs of the rapidly growing population of the DFW metroplex.
The hospital is served by the
Trinity Railway Express
The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) is a commuter rail service in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Texas, United States. It was established by an interlocal agreement between Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Trinity Metro. Each transit auth ...
at
Medical/Market Center Station and the
Southwestern Medical District/Parkland station of
DART light rail.
Rankings and recognition
Children's Medical Center Dallas was ranked 48th in the world among pediatric specialized hospitals in 2024 by ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
''.
The
U.S. News & World Report also consistently names the hospital among the best in the United States every year, namely in the most recent list of the top pediatric hospitals in the US. In the 2023-2024 edition of "Best Children's Hospitals", it was ranked in all ten specialties listed below:
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Hospitals in Dallas
Teaching hospitals in Texas
University of Texas System
Hospitals established in 1913
1913 establishments in Texas
Southwestern Medical District
Hospital buildings completed in 2004
Hospital buildings completed in 2009
Pediatric trauma centers
Children's hospitals in Texas