Rush is ranked higher than any other program in Illinois in Orthopedics

Rush University Medical Center has once again been named one of the nation’s top hospitals in a number of specialties in the upcoming issue of U.S.News & World Report. Rush is ranked among the best in nine of 16 categories included in the magazine’s annual “America’s Best Hospitals” issue on sale Tuesday, July 21.

Just 174 out of 4,861 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 at #12 in the nation.

The rankings of other Rush programs are: Neurology and Neurosurgery, #12; Geriatric Care, #24; Gastroenterology (Digestive Disorders), #26; Kidney Disorders, #29; Heart and Heart Surgery, #30; Urology, #31; Gynecology, #50 and Ear, Nose & Throat, #50.

“Rush continues to do great work in a broad spectrum of categories, and these rankings are representative of the quality of care provided at Rush,” said Dr. Larry J. Goodman, president and CEO, Rush University Medical Center. “Rush has earned its place among the top academic medical centers in America.”

Now in its 20^th year, the 2009-10 “America’s Best Hospitals” guide is the most extensive hospital ranking to date. According to U.S.News & World Report, the purpose of the “America’s Best Hospitals” ranking is to help patients “who need medical sophistication that most facilities simply cannot offer.”

Hospitals are judged not in routine procedures but in complex and demanding situations such as replacing an 85-year-old’s heart valve, diagnosing and treating a spinal tumor, and dealing with inflammatory bowel disease. According to the magazine’s editors, “High-stakes medicine calls for more than the usual brand of doctoring.”

“When the stakes are high, you want the best care you can get for someone close to you,” said Avery Comarow, health rankings editor. “These are hospitals that are used to getting the sickest patients.”

The rankings in 12 of the 16 specialties are predominantly driven by hard data. There are four components:   reputation, death rate, patient safety (new this year), and a set of care-related factors such as nursing and patient services. To be considered at all for the 12 data driven specialties, a hospital had to meet at least one of the three requirements: be a teaching hospital; have at least 200 beds; or have at least 100 beds plus at least four out of eight key medical technologies such as current-generation CT scanners and precision radiation therapy.

In the four other specialties: ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation, and rheumatology, ranking is based solely on reputation derived from physician surveys from the most recent three years. The 2009 rankings were produced by RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C.