U.S. News and World Report's2001 "America's Best Hospitals" issue included eight medical specialties of the University Medical Center as among the finest of their kind.
The specialties and their rankings are cancer, ranked 22nd; endocrinology (hormonal disorders), sixth; geriatrics, 49th; nephrology (kidney disease), 49th; neurology, 29th; otolaryngology, (ear nose and throat), 22nd; pulmonary (respiratory disorders), 34th; and urology, 23rd.
"It's always good to be recognized by your peers," said Paul Levine, director of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, at the Medical Center. "The residency training program is well-respected, the doctors that train here are well thought of after they finish, and the patient care we provide here is excellent."
Each year for the past 12 years, the magazine has ranked the top hospitals in 17 medical specialties, said Richard Folkers, spokesman for U.S. News and World Report.
Magazine editors begin with a list of about 6,000 hospitals. The list is then narrowed down to about 1,800 teaching hospitals, hospitals associated with a medical school and hospitals that offer a at least nine of 17 technology services, Folkers said.
Next, 150 physicians in each field, chosen at random from across the country, rate the hospitals according to quality of care.
The factors that the physicians use to judge the specialties are mortality rates, discharge rates, the ratio of registered nurses to patients and technology.
"Being listed is clearly an honor," Cancer Center Director Michael Weber said. But "our goal is to be in the top 10. We could realistically be there in seven years."
One reason Weber said he believes the Cancer Center made the list is because it was one of the only centers to pioneer a program in which teams of physicians and caregivers could meet with a patient at one set time. Previously, patients would have had to schedule individual appointments with each doctor.
The specialties that were included in this year's rankings issue also were included in past years.
"We've been ranked in every issue since they began," Levine said of the otolaryngology specialty.
Although the magazine calls the issue America's Best Hospitals, it is not an exhaustive list of all of the quality hospitals in America, Folkers said.
"There are some extraordinary community hospitals that are not on the list," he said. "The reason we do these rankings is because there are times when you have a special problem and these are the facilities to get to."
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