Emory Report

July 24, 2000

 Volume 52, No. 38

Emory Hospital

U.S. News ranks Emory hospital high

By Sylvia Wrobel

Emory Hospital earned a place in eight of the 17 medical specialties rated in U.S. News and World Report's July 7 rankings of America's best hospitals.

Heart and eye programs retained their places in the Top 10, while the magazine's first rankings for kidney disease placed Emory at 13th. Also ranked high were programs in urology (18th), neurology/neurosurgery (25th), geriatrics (31st), gynecology (34th), and gastroenterology (37th).

Most programs are ranked under a methodology that combines reputation among specialists with death rates and other measures that physicians and social-science researchers believe reflect quality of care.

"These rankings, as well as recognition from other organizations, reinforce the very high caliber of our hospitals and health care teams, which include physicians, nursing staff, therapists, technicians, educators and dieticians," said John Henry, chief executive officer for Crawford Long and Emory hospitals. "While we're continually known for cardiology services, this survey publicly acknowledges our strength in a host of other areas."

The cardiology program, ranked ninth, has been recognized as one of the Top 10 programs in the nation since USN&WR began ranking hospitals in 1990. This year Emory was the only hospital in the Southeast to be ranked in the top 10 in cardiology.

"We are pleased with and proud of our consistently high placement in this survey," said Douglas Morris, chief of cardiology for Emory Hospitals. "One of our biggest strengths is the availability of such a diverse team of Emory experts who represent every subspecialty in heart disease."

Ophthalmology has shown a steady rise from 14th in 1998 to 10th in 1999 and now to eighth in the nation for 2000. It is one of the few specialties for which rankings are based entirely on reputation, indicating that word is getting out about what's going on at Emory.

Thomas Aaberg, director of the Emory Eye Center said, "The ranking is a credit to our doctors and the entire clinical team and reflects our ability to handle the most complex cases in addition to basic eye care."

Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Michael Johns said, "We believe these gratifying rankings reflect what our patients already know about us, and we want to enhance that experience.

"Not only are we making great strides in the type of research that revolutionizes patient care," Johns continued, "we also are assessing how our patients experience the care they receive at Emory in order to improve it even more."

"The magazine ranks hospitals but, as we pointed out last year, these rankings also reflect the strengths of Emory Health-care as a system," Henry added. "For example, Wesley Woods builds our resources in top-ranked geriatrics program, and the resources at the Emory Clinic enhance our programs in ophthalmology."


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