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July 18, 2005
EUH ranked near top by U.S. News
BY Cindy sanders
Emory Hospital has made another strong showing in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of the nation’s best hospitals released earlier this month, earning Top 50 rankings in six specialties, more than any other hospital in Georgia.
Two programs earned national Top 20 designations, including heart and heart surgery (12) and ophthalmology (17). Emory’s programs in geriatrics (33), gynecology (46), kidney disease (22) and psychiatry (21) also were included in the magazine’s rankings of 17 specialties. Emory had the only programs in Georgia ranked among the Top 50 in each of those specialties. Overall, Emory is one of only 176 hospitals, out of more than 6,000 medical centers in the country, named in even one of the magazine’s Top 50 specialty rankings.
“For 100 years, Emory Hospital has been a cornerstone of health care in Atlanta, and to be consistently singled out in rankings such as this is a credit to Emory’s rich history in cutting-edge patient care,” said Chief Operating Officer Robert Bachman.
U.S. News looks at entire specialties rather than at specific procedures in an effort to identify hospitals that excel in a variety of tough cases across a specialty. According to the magazine, hospitals and medical centers make this elite group because their physicians see sicker patients and perform greater numbers of difficult procedures; follow (and often pioneer) advanced-treatment guidelines; conduct bench-to-bedside research; and exploit advances in imaging, surgical devices and other technologies.
To be considered for this year’s rankings, a hospital had to satisfy at least one of three requirements: membership in the Council of Teaching Hospitals, medical school affiliation, or availability of at least nine of 18 key technology-related services such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). Reputation, mortality ratio, the measurement of a hospital’s ability to keep patients alive, and other care-related factors, such as registered-nurse-to-bed ratios and patient/community services, also are considered.
U.S. News ranks ophthalmology, pediatrics, psychiatry, rehabilitation and rheumatology only by their reputation among board-certified specialists based on a survey of 200 randomly selected physicians asked to name the top five programs in each specialty.
“To be recognized again as one of America’s best hospitals—and in so many specialties—is a compliment to our physicians, nurses, medical technologists and support staff across the Emory Healthcare (EHC) system,” said John Fox, EHC president and chief executive officer. “Emory’s presence in the U.S. News rankings underscores our dedication to our patients, and emphasizes our commitment to provide the latest advancements in medical technology and procedures.”
Fox said that while Emory Hospital is singled out because of the nature of the rankings structure, these rankings reflect the quality of all the EHC’s components, including The Emory Clinic, Crawford Long and Wesley Woods.
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