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July 11, 2006 -- Five medical specialties at the University
of Virginia Health
System are listed in the 17th annual
survey of “America’s Best Hospitals” from
U.S. News & World Report. The rankings appear in the
magazine’s July 17 issue and can be found online.
U.V.a specialties ranked in this year’s guide from
U.S News are: endocrinology (6); gynecology (25); ear,
nose and throat (26); cancer (30); and heart (50). U.Va.’s
endocrinology (hormonal disorders) program has consistently
ranked 5th or 6th in the nation by U.S. News since the
1990s, while the U.Va. heart program makes a return to
the list this year.
"It is gratifying to be named once again as one of
America's best hospitals in each of these specialties,
which reflects
the excellent care we provide to our patients," said
R. Edward Howell, vice president and chief executive officer
of the U.Va. Medical Center. “As a premier medical
research center in Virginia, we are committed to finding
new treatments, tests and technologies that benefit our
patients from the Commonwealth and beyond."
According to U.S. News, out of 5,189 hospitals studied,
only 3 percent, 176 in all, are ranked in one or more of
the 16 specialties in this year's "America's Best
Hospitals." Ranked hospitals tend to offer
more advanced treatments, use new research in patient care
and conduct more research that gives critically ill patients
better options in their treatment.
Most ranked institutions are referral centers, says the
U.S. News website, where the sickest patients are sent
for advanced care. Such hospitals follow, and pioneer,
new treatment guidelines. They also conduct bench-to-bedside
research and exploit the latest advances in imaging, surgical
devices, and other technologies.
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