22nd Annual Rankings Recognize Hospitals in 94 Metro Areas and
16 Specialties
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19, 2011
Contact: Rob
Brogna
508-793-5394
774-317-0422
Robert.brogna@umassmemorial.org
Twitter: http://twitter.com/umassmemorial
WASHINGTON D.C. - UMass Memorial Medical Center has been
ranked # 1 in the Worcester region in U.S. News Media & World Report's
2011-12 Best
Hospitals rankings, available online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals. The rankings, annually published
by U.S. News for the past 22 years, will also be featured in the U.S. News
Best Hospitals guidebook, which will go on sale August 30.
The latest rankings showcase 720 hospitals out of about 5,000 hospitals
nationwide. Each is ranked among the country's top hospitals in at least one
medical specialty and/or ranked among the best hospitals in its metro area.
UMass Memorial Medical Center was also ranked as high-performing in the
following medical specialties:
- Cancer
- Ear, Nose & Throat
- Gastroenterology
- Geriatrics
- Gynecology
- Nephrology
- Orthopedics
- Pulmonology
- Urology
"This recognition is for all of the dedicated people who make UMass Memorial
the exceptional hospital it is," said Walter Ettinger, MD, president of UMass
Memorial Medical Center. "It is an honor to be chosen as the best overall in our
region and to be regarded as a leader in so many specialties."
The core mission of Best Hospitals is to help guide patients who need an
especially high level of care because of a difficult surgery, a challenging
condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age. "These are
referral centers where other hospitals send their sickest patients," said Avery
Comarow, U.S. News Health Rankings Editor. "Hospitals like these are ones you or
those close to you should consider when the stakes are high."
Covering 94 metro areas in the U.S., the regional
hospital rankings complement the national rankings by including hospitals
with solid performance nearly at the level of nationally ranked institutions.
The regional rankings are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand
the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital or who may
not be willing or able to travel long distances for medical care. The U.S. News
metro rankings give many such patients and their families more options of
hospitals within their community and in their health insurance network.
"These are hospitals we call 'high performers.' They are fully capable of
giving most patients first-rate care, even if they have serious conditions or
need demanding procedures," Comarow said. "Almost every major metro area has at
least one of these hospitals."
Hard numbers stand behind the rankings in most specialties-death rates,
patient safety, procedure volume, and other objective data. Responses to a
national survey, in which physicians were asked to name hospitals they consider
best in their specialty for the toughest cases, also were factored in.
The rankings cover 16 medical specialties and all 94 metro areas that have at
least 500,000 residents and at least one hospital that performed well enough to
be ranked.
UMass Memorial Medical Center
UMass Memorial Medical
Center is the advanced tertiary care referral center for Central New England.
The Medical Center offers a full complement of sophisticated technology and
support services necessary to provide the region with specialists renowned for
their work in areas such as cardiology, cancer, diabetes and orthopedics. To
learn more about UMass Memorial, please visit http://www.umassmemorial.org, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.