National survey places University of Chicago Hospitals in top one percent for most specialties

Contact
John Easton
(773) 702-6241
john.easton@uchospitals.edu

July 7, 2006

The University of Chicago Hospitals is rated as one of the best in the United States and the highest ranked in Illinois according to U.S.News & World Report in its annual survey of America's 5,189 hospitals.

In the 2006 "Best Hospitals" issue (17 July 2006, on newsstands July 10), the University of Chicago Hospitals is ranked among the best in the country in 11 specialty areas, more than any other Illinois hospital. Two programs, digestive disorders (#6) and cancer (#8), were ranked in the top 10 nationwide.

Five programs were ranked in the top 25, including endocrinology (#13), neurology & neurosurgery (#16), respiratory disorders (#22), orthopedics (#22), and ear, nose & throat (#25). Four other programs--kidney disease (#26), gynecology (#32), urology (#41) and heart & heart surgery (#45)--scored in the top 50.

The rankings are based on a mathematical formula that takes into account (1) the ratio between actual and expected mortality at a hospital; (2) a group of factors such as available technology, patient/community services, procedure volume and nursing care; and (3) each institution's reputation according to a poll of 200 specialists in each field. These specialists are asked to list "the five hospitals they consider best in their specialty for difficult cases, without considering cost or location."

Only 176 of the country's 5,189 hospitals (about three percent) made at least one of the specialty lists. Many of these hospitals are referral centers, the magazine notes. "Their physicians see sicker patients and do greater numbers of tough procedures. They follow, often pioneer, advanced treatment guidelines. They conduct bench-to-bedside research. And they exploit advances in imaging, surgical devices, and other technologies. It's an elite group."

The University of Chicago geriatrics program, home for one of the nation's leading research programs on ethics, end-of-life care, decision-making, and public policy issues, has been ranked in the top 20 ever year since 1993, but the magazine dropped that category for 2006, because it is "oriented more to primary care than to specialized hospital treatment."

The University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine was also the highest ranked medical school in Illinois in U.S.News's "Best Graduate Schools" issue, which came out this spring.

2006 Best Hospitals--U.S.News & World Report

All Ranked Illinois Hospitals

Key to Illinois Hospitals