Numerous national organizations have recognized specific services and programs at Rush for the quality of care they provide. Among them are the following:

National Recognition
Accreditations and Designations

National Recognition

U.S. News & World Report
11 Specialties Ranked Among the Best
In U.S. News & World Report's 2012-2013 America's Best Hospitals issue, Rush ranked among the top 50 hospitals in 11 of 16 categories. Just 148 out of almost 5,000 hospitals in the United States, about 3 percent, scored high enough this year to rank in even a single specialty, according to the magazine. Rush is ranked higher than any other program in Illinois in orthopedics (No. 11 in the country), geriatrics (No. 12) and nephrology (No. 18). Rush’s other ranked programs are neurology and neurosurgery (No. 17); heart and heart surgery (No. 21); urology (No. 22); gastroenterology (No. 44), ear, nose and throat (No. 46); gynecology (No. 46); pulmonology (No. 47); and diabetes and endocrinology (No. 49). Learn more.

U.S. News & World Report
Rush Children's Hospital Ranked Among the Best
U.S. News & World Report’s 2012-13 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings have included Rush Children’s Hospital in two of the 10 categories — gastroenterology, No. 35, and neonatology, No. 44. These rankings are indicative of the excellent care, dedication and expertise that Rush provides to the sickest children across all of Rush Children’s Hospital programs. Learn more.

The Leapfrog Group
Top Rating for Patient Safety
Rush received an A grade in a nationwide evaluation of hospitals. The new Hospital Safety Score represents Rush's overall performance in keeping patients safe from medical and medication errors, infections and injuries. The Leapfrog Group evaluated 2,652 hospitals nationwide, including 114 of the 177 in Illinois (specialty hospitals were not included). The scores were calculated under the guidance of the Leapfrog Group’s blue ribbon expert panel using 26 measures of publicly available data. Learn more.

The Leapfrog Group
Top Hospital Award for Quality and Safety
For the fourth time, Rush has been named among the top hospitals in the country for quality, safety and efficiency by the Leapfrog Group, a national organization that promotes health care safety and quality improvement. Rush is one of only 67 hospitals that made their Top Hospitals Award list for 2012 from nearly 1,200 hospitals surveyed. The Leapfrog Hospital Recognition Program measures and evaluates hospital performance to recognize achievements and encourage improvements in the efficiency of hospital care. Learn more.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance
Patient Centered Medical Home
Seven primary care offices at Rush have been recognized as a medical home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). These are the first physician practices at an academic medical center in Illinois to receive the prestigious NCQA’s Physician Practice Connections – Patient-Centered Medical Home level 3 designation – the highest recognition level awarded by NCQA. The concept of the medical home focuses on patient health improvement instead of episodic care. Each patient has a personal physician who, together with a care team, coordinates care beyond the physical borders of the physician’s office. The emphasis is on keeping patients healthy, preventing illness and making the right care available to the patient at the right time.

The Human Rights Campaign
Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality
For the fourth consecutive year, Rush has been named a leader in LGBT healthcare equality in the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) 2012 report, an annual survey conducted by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The HEI evaluates the nation's hospitals on their treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients, their families and hospital employees. The survey evaluates hospitals on the basis of key indicators for equitable treatment, including nondiscrimination policies for LGBT patients and employees; visitation policies that grant same-sex partners and parents equal access; and training in LGBT patient-centered care for key staff. Learn more.

The American College of Surgeons
Exemplary Outcomes for Surgical Care 
The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has recognized Rush as one of 26 out of 300 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals in the United States that have achieved exemplary outcomes for surgical patient care in five clinical areas: deep vein thrombosis, thrombophlebitis and pulmonary embolism; cardiac incidents; respiratory; surgical site infections; or urinary tract infections. The 26 hospitals commended achieved the distinction of attaining exemplary results in two or more of the five areas listed above.

Hospitals & Health Networks magazine
Among the Nation's Most Wired Hospitals 
For demonstrating leadership in the use of information technology, Rush University Medical Center has been listed among the Most Wired Hospitals in the nation, according to the results of the 2012 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine.

HealthGrades
Rush University Medical Center does not publish or promote our ratings from HealthGrades because HealthGrades charges a licensing fee to do so.

Accreditations and Designations

Accreditation
The Joint Commission
Rush University Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission, most recently in November of 2009. Rush's behavioral health program and Rush's pathology and clinical laboratories are also Joint Commission accredited. Rush's stroke program is certified as a primary stroke center by the Joint Commission.

Accreditation
The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs
The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) has awarded Rush University Medical Center full accreditation for three years. To earn accreditation by AAHRPP, an organization must meet or exceed a wide set of stringent criteria and demonstrate a commitment to enhancing the appropriate safeguards and protecting the rights and welfare of research participants. Rush is one of the first academic medical centers in Illinois to receive this accreditation. Learn more.

Magnet Nursing Status
The American Nurses Credentialing Center
In 2010, Rush received renewal of its Magnet status, the highest recognition given for nursing excellence. The designation recognizes Rush nursing staff for overall excellence and for providing the very best care to patients. The American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Recognition Program first awarded Rush the four-year Magnet designation in 2002 and then again in 2006. Rush is the only hospital in Illinois serving both adult and children to receive the designation for a third time. Learn more.

Alzheimer's disease care

Designation for the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center
The National Institute on Aging
The Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center is one of only 29 Alzheimer's disease research centers across the country designated and funded by the National Institute on Aging of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Learn more.

Cancer care

Outstanding Achievement Award for Rush University Cancer Center
The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer
The Rush University Cancer Center was awarded a 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award from the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer. Rush has received this triennial award each of the three times the Medical Center has been evaluated by the Commission on Cancer since the award was established.

Accreditation for the Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic
The Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy
The Coleman Foundation Comprehensive Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic is accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). Rush's transplant program is fully accredited for allogeneic and autologous marrow and peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation, including cell collection and laboratory processing. FACT accreditation is a voluntary process whereby transplant programs adhere to compliance with standards for the provision of quality medical and laboratory practice in hematopoietic cell transplantation. Learn more.

Center of Excellence Designation for Rush Breast Imaging Center
The American College of Radiology
The Rush Breast Imaging Center has been designated a breast imaging center of excellence by the American College of Radiology. The designation signifies that the Rush Breast Imaging Center meets the highest standards of the radiology profession. A center of excellence designation is awarded to breast imaging centers that have demonstrated excellence in breast imaging by achieving accreditation in mammography, breast ultrasound and ultrasound-guided biopsy, and stereotactic breast biopsy. Learn more.

Heart care

Accreditation as a Chest Pain Center
The Society of Chest Pain Centers
Rush University Medical Center received chest pain center accreditation in February 2009, and it was the first academic medical center in Chicago to receive this honor. This accreditation was given by the Society of Chest Pain Centers, a national not-for-profit international society dedicated to the belief that heart disease can be eliminated as the number one cause of death worldwide. Learn more.

Rehabilitation services

Accreditation for Rush Rehabilitation Programs
The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) is an independent, not-for-profit accreditor of health and human services. It accredits close to 47,000 programs and services at more than 20,000 locations in 16 countries. Accreditation involves an on-site survey to determine whether a facility operates in accordance with CARF's standards of quality, which have been developed over 40 years by international teams of service providers, policy makers, payers, family members and consumers. The Johnson R. Bowman Center at Rush University Medical Center has received the maximum three-year accreditation from CARF for both its general inpatient rehabilitation program and its stroke specialty program. Learn more.

Pathology and laboratories

Accreditation for Rush Laboratories
The College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the Joint Commission
The laboratories at Rush University Medical Center are accredited by the College of American Pathologists and the Joint Commission. Joint Commission laboratory accreditation standards address processes that follow laboratory specimens through the laboratory from collection to result reporting, focusing on the provision of high quality, safe laboratory services. The goal of CAP's accreditation program is to improve patient safety by advancing the quality of pathology and laboratory services through education, standard setting and ensuring laboratories meet or exceed regulatory requirements.

Stroke care

Gold Seal of Approval to Comprehensive Stroke Program at Rush
The Joint Commission
Earning the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission, the Comprehensive Stroke Program at Rush has been certified as a primary stroke center. This certification recognizes hospitals that make exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for stroke care. Specialists at Rush in stroke, other cerebrovascular conditions and neurologic critical care, provide care for people with cerebrovascular disorders in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Learn more.

Gold Performance Achievement Award to Comprehensive Stroke Program at Rush
The American Stroke Association
The Comprehensive Stroke Program at Rush has received the American Stroke Association's Get With the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes the stroke program's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment for at least 24 months according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. Learn more.