Kosair Children’s ranked nationally in six specialties; 11 named ‘high-performing’
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 16, 2013) – U.S. News and World Report named 11 Kentucky hospitals as “high-performing” on its annual Best Hospitals list, and nationally ranked Kosair Children’s Hospital.
The magazine surveyed nearly 10,000 specialists and sifted through data for approximately 5,000 hospitals to rank the best in 16 adult specialties, from cancer to urology. Death rates, patient safety, and hospital reputation were a few of the factors considered. Only 147 hospitals were nationally ranked in one or more specialties.
The 16 Kentucky hospitals are:
♦ Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Ky., the pediatric arm of Norton Healthcare, which admits more than 200 children a day. It was one of 87 facilities that made the rankings in at least one of the 10 specialties analyzed for the 2013-14 Best Children’s Hospitals. U.S. News ranked the hospital in six specialties: No. 29 in pediatric cancer care; No. 39 in pediatric neurology and neurosurgery; No. 49 in pediatric cardiology and heart surgery; No. 30 in pediatric orthopedics; No. 43 in pediatric pulmonology; and No. 43 in pediatric urology.
♦ St. Elizabeth Edgewood was ranked No. 1 in Kentucky. The 510-bed hospital had 29,308 admissions in the latest year for which data are available. It performed 7,864 annual inpatient and 14,972 outpatient surgeries, according to U.S. News. Its emergency room had 102,297 visits. St. Elizabeth also was ranked No. 4 in the Cincinnati metro area.
U.S. News said St. Elizabeth performed nearly at the level of nationally ranked hospitals, and listed it as “high-performing” in 11 specialities: cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and GI surgery; geriatrics; gynecology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; pulmonology; and urology.
♦ Baptist Health Louisville was ranked No. 2 in Kentucky and No. 1 in the Louisville area. It performed nearly at the level of nationally ranked U.S. News Best Hospitals in 10 adult specialties: cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; ear, nose and throat; geriatrics; gynecology; nephrology; orthopedics; pulmonology; and urology.
♦ University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital in Lexington also was ranked No. 2 in Kentucky. The teaching hospital performed nearly at the level of nationally hospitals in 10 adult specialties: cancer; diabetes and endocrinology; ear, nose and throat; geriatrics; gynecology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; and orthopedics.
♦ Baptist Health Lexington was ranked No. 4 in Kentucky. The 344-bed hospital performed nearly at the level of nationally ranked hospitals in eight specialties: cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and GI surgery; geriatrics; gynecology; neurology and neurosurgery; and pulmonology.
♦ Jewish Hospital in Louisville was ranked No. 5 in Kentucky and No. 2 in the Louisville area. It was high performing in seven adult specialties: cardiology and heart surgery; gastroenterology and GI surgery; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; pulmonology; and urology.
♦ Norton Hospital in Louisville was ranked No. 6 in Kentucky and No. 3 in the Louisville area. It performed nearly at the level of nationally ranked U.S. News Best Hospitals in gastroenterology and GI surgery; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; and pulmonology.
♦ University of Louisville Hospital was ranked No. 7 in Kentucky and No. 4 in the Louisville area. It was high performing in cancer; and ear, nose and throat.
♦ King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland was high performing in pulmonology. It tied for No. 8 in Kentucky.
♦ St. Elizabeth Florence performed nearly at level of nationally ranked hospitals in pulmonology. It tied for No. 8 in Kentucky.
♦ St. Elizabeth Fort Thomas was high performing in urology. It tied for No. 8 in Kentucky.
♦ St. Joseph East tied for No. 8 in Kentucky. It was high performing in orthopedics.
“A hospital that emerges from our analysis as one of the best has much to be proud of,” said Avery Comarow, U.S. News Health Rankings Editor. “Only about 15 percent of hospitals are recognized for their high performance as among their region’s best. Just 3 percent of all hospitals earn a national ranking in any specialty.”
U.S. News publishes Best Hospitals to help guide patients who need a high level of care because they face particularly difficult surgery, a challenging condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age. Objective measures such as patient survival and safety data, the adequacy of nurse staffing levels and other data largely determined the rankings in most specialties.
The specialty rankings and data were produced for U.S. News by RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Using the same data, U.S. News produced the state and metro rankings.
The rankings have been published at health.usnews.com/best-hospitals and will appear in print in the U.S. News Best Hospitals 2014 guidebook, available in bookstores and on newsstands Aug. 27.
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