Hospitals named nation's 10th best

By Matthew Weiler
Daily Staff Reporter

MARGARET MYERS/Daily The University Medical Center was ranked by a U.S. News and World Report as the tenth-best overall hospital in the nation.

The University's Hospitals, long considered by many to be among the best of the best, scored big in U.S. News and World Report's annual hospital rankings.

According to the rankings released July 18, University hospitals improved from 15th overall to 10th since last year's rankings.

"Things really seem to be improving there," said Bruce Zanka, director of communication at U.S. News, speaking of the dramatic improvement University hospitals have made.

Internal medicine Prof. Max Wicha expressed happiness with the center's 15th-place ranking, but expects to see an improvement in future evaluations - especially in light of the new Cancer and Geriatrics Center, which may not have been taken into consideration.

"We are delighted to be ranked so highly; we are the only center in Michigan to be ranked in the top 15," Wicha said. "With the (June) opening of the new building, we expect next year to be better."

The University's top 10 specialty rankings included otolaryngology in the fourth spot, a ninth place in geriatrics and a 10th in rheumatology and rehabilitation.

Zanka said the goal of the U.S News rankings are to assist patients who need the best diagnosis and treatment available.

The magazine's ranking process is impeccable, he said. "(The methodology of the rankings) is impartial. It's fair. It's based on sound, scientific logic," Zanka said.

Zanka said that U.S. News considers data from American's National Opinion Research, Inc., which the magazine sends to 1,400 hospitals to compile the rankings. Researchers then enter the numbers into a computer model.

Two-thirds of a hospital's score comes from the National Opinion Research, Inc. and one-third comes from a hospital's reputation.

The rankings for some specialties - ophthalmology, pediatrics, psychiatry and rehabilitation - are based solely on reputation because other data is unavailable or irrelevant.

Zanka said while the rankings maybe reliable, that does not mean a local hospital, which may not have been among the highest in the U.S. News survey, cannot offer excellent service.

In order to be considered for ranking, a hospital must be affiliated with a medical school, be a member of the Council of Teaching Hospital or receive a high evaluation in hospital technology.

'U' rankings high in many categories
Hospital overall: 10
Otolaryngology: 4
Geriatrics: 9
Rheumatology: 10
Rehabilitation: 10
Neurology: 12
Cancer: 15
Psychiatry: 15
AIDS research: 28

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