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ELEVEN U.VA. MEDICAL SPECIALTIES RANKED IN U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT'S BEST HOSPITALS

Eleven medical specialties at the University of Virginia Health System are listed in U.S. News & World Report's 2000 America's Best Hospital's guide, due to appear in the magazine's July 17 issue. In last year's guide, U.Va. had 10 specialties ranked in the top 50.

According to the magazine's editors, America's Best Hospitals is an assessment of the nation's hospitals based on an index made up of three equal parts related to quality of care: reputation, mortality and various factors such as procedure volume and nursing care.

U.Va. specialties listed in the new guide and their rankings among specialist colleagues nationwide are: hormonal disorders (endocrinology), 6; neurology and neurosurgery, 18; cancer, 19; ear, nose and throat (otolaryngology), 20; urology, 21; digestive disorders (gastroenterology), 22; heart (cardiology), 28; respiratory disorders, 28; gynecology, 29; geriatrics, 38; and kidney disease (nephrology), 39.

We're delighted to continue to receive this kind of national recognition, said Dr. Robert W. Cantrell, vice president and provost for the health system. It reflects the hard work and dedication of all of our employees as we work to deliver the best possible care for our patients.

July 6, 2000