UW Medical Center ranks among U.S. News’ top 15

UW Medical Center is again ranked among the top hospitals in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 1998 annual guide to “America’s Best Hospitals,” available on newsstands this week.

UW Medical Center was ranked 14th in the nation among the 1,985 major medical centers (including approximately 300 teaching hospitals) considered in this year’s survey. It is the only hospital west of Rochester, Minn., and north of San Francisco to achieve an honor roll ranking. UW Medical Center has been ranked among the top 15 hospitals nationally by U.S. News since 1993.

UWMC ranked among the top 10 hospitals nationwide in four specialties: rehabilitation (2nd); orthopedics (7th); cancer (8th); and otolaryngology (8th). It received top rankings in four additional specialties: geriatrics (11th); cardiology and cardiac surgery (12th); gynecology (21st); and urology (27th). Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, which is closely affiliated with the UW School of Medicine, ranked 14th in pediatrics.

“It is rewarding to see University of Washington Medical Center again distinguished as one of the most outstanding hospitals in the nation,” said Dr. Paul G. Ramsey, UW vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “This recognition honors the continued commitment to high-quality patient care offered by our faculty and staff at University of Washington Medical Center, as well as at Harborview Medical Center and Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center.”

For 12 of the 16 specialties ranked, U.S. News, in conjunction with the National Opinion Research Center, evaluated hospitals using a mathematical model combining reputation among board-certified specialists, death rate statistics, and other medical data such as the various medical technologies available.

In the other four specialties — ophthalmology, pediatrics, psychology and rehabilitation — rankings were made based on a reputational survey of physicians.

U.S. News’ Honor Roll of the nation’s best hospitals includes Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, Duke University Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, Stanford University Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, University of California San Francisco Medical Center, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago Hospitals, University of Michigan Medical Center and UW Medical Center.

The U.S. News rankings are the latest in a series of honors given recently at UW affiliated hospitals.

Earlier this year, 225 UW physicians — practicing at UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center — were listed in The Best Doctors in America, a nationwide survey compiled by Woodward/White, Inc. of Aitken, S.C.

Last month, UW Medical Center received recertification as a “Magnet Hospital” by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for its excellence in nursing service. It was the first hospital in the nation to achieve magnet status four years ago. The magnet award recognizes institutions that provide top-quality nursing care for patients. ¶ Julie Rathbun