The publication’s 2024 evaluation of the nation’s top pediatric hospitals gave high marks to Primary Children’s Hospital in 11 specialties, including four top 25 rankings. The hospital also tied for first place in the nation for its outcomes in neurology and neurosurgery for the third consecutive year.

“From our prestigious Magnet Hospital nursing designation, to our top-ranked neurology and neurosurgery patient outcomes and continued excellence in complex heart procedures, this year’s Best Children’s Hospitals rankings demonstrate our relentless pursuit of excellence for the patients we serve,” said Dustin Lipson, president of Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, Salt Lake Campus.

One area the children’s hospital was ranked No. 1 in the nation was for patient outcomes in neurology and neurosurgery. One Utah patient who benefited from those services was Owen Jacobsen.

Now 12, Owen started having unexplained seizures when he was 11 years old.

Photo supplied, Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital

Owen started to feel strange sensations in his left arm that progressed to a tremor. Then he had an apparent grand mal seizure at home, according to his mother, Rindi Jacobsen. Even more frightening, she said, was the fact that her son went unconscious and remained that way for some time.

Rushed to a local emergency department, a brain scan showed a common cyst and physicians thought the seizure was an isolated incident — until he had another just two days later.

“This was the beginning of one of the most frightening experiences of our lives,” Jacobsen said.

The seizures got worse and began to interfere with Owen’s school work and outside activities. He also began struggling to play the French horn and even started getting headaches from playing the instrument. Medication he was given made him tired and groggy and competitive soccer and swimming became too much for him to deal with. He also had to drop out of in-person school and switch to online courses.

His father, a dermatologist, knew something wasn’t right, so he asked doctors to look at Owen’s brain scans again. A tumor was discovered next to the cyst in his brain and he was referred to Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, where Dr. Robert Bollo, a pediatric surgeon at U of U Health and Primary Children’s Hospital, performed a highly specialized procedure called laser interstitial thermal therapy.

The treatment is only performed in a handful of children’s hospitals. It uses a probe with special fibers which are inserted through a small hole in the skull and then guided by images on an iMRI (intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging) machine. This technology allows surgeons to ensure they can burn away only cancer cells and leave healthy brain structures in place.

This treatment is used in place of craniotomy surgery and is much less invasive with shorter recovery times and fewer risks for cognitive problems down the road.

“Dr. Bollo has been kind, compassionate and professional from the first moment we met him,” Jacobsen said. “We were thrilled with the surgical options he offered for Owen and the way he reassured us as a family that he could help Owen. We immediately felt that we were in good hands. Amazingly skilled, surgical, brilliant hands.”

The procedure worked.

“Seizures weren’t fun,” the young man said, “and after surgery they were gone.”

Owen was able to start seventh grade with his classmates and is on the MATHCOUNTS team, the swim team and the student council. He rides his bike and is back to playing French horn in the school band.

“He’s back to himself and doing so great, living a happy, vibrant life,” Jacobsen said. “He’s better than ever. He’s thriving, and we feel so grateful and so much hope that this experience is in our rear-view mirror. It’s a miracle.”

The hospital also ranked high in cardiology and heart surgery, nephrology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, as well as behavioral health, cancer, diabetes and endocrine disorders, neonatal care, orthopedics, pulmonology and urology.

“We are committed to continually improving clinical care and helping Primary Children’s patients thrive, and as a result, are recruiting some of the nation’s best physicians to our teams,” said Dr. Angelo Giardino, chair of the University of Utah School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and chief medical officer at Primary Children’s Hospital. “This independent national recognition underscores this commitment and our outstanding teamwork to high-quality, compassionate care to children.”