For the fourth consecutive year, the UW Medical Center ranks among the top-10 hospitals in the nation. U.S. News & World Report’s 2006 guide to America’s Best Hospitals rated UWMC 10th, the magazine announced July 10.
UWMC is the highest-ranked hospital west of St. Louis and north of San Francisco. Of the 5,189 hospitals considered for this year’s survey, just 176 scored high enough to be ranked in any specialty area. Only 14, including UWMC, were named to the 2006 Honor Roll, demonstrating exceptional breadth of excellence.
In specialty rankings, 11 UWMC programs are among the top 20 in the country. The rehabilitation program is ranked third in the nation. The cancer program is ranked sixth and the neurology/neurosurgery program is ranked 17th.
Other top-20 programs include ear, nose and throat (9th); orthopaedics (10th); endocrinology (11th); respiratory disorders (12th); kidney disease (15th); gynecology (17th); digestive disorders (17th); and rheumatology (20th).
Harborview Medical Center, which is owned by King County and operated by the UW, ranked 18th in orthopaedics. Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, which is closely affiliated with the UW, ranked 12th in pediatrics.
The complete U.S. News Honor Roll of the nation’s best hospitals includes (in order) Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, UCLA Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, Duke University Medical Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis, University of California San Francisco Medical Center, UW Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, University of Michigan Hospitals and Health System, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
“It is a great honor for UWMC to be ranked in the top 10 of America’s best hospitals four years in a row,” says Lisa Brandenburg, UWMC interim executive director. “I congratulate our physicians, nurses and staff for their continuing excellence in caring for our patients.”