Media inquiries: (434) 924-5679

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

Ten medical specialties at the University of Virginia are listed in U.S. News & World Report's 2002 edition of America's Best Hospitals, due to appear in the magazine's July 22 issue.

According to the magazine's editors, ranked hospitals tend to adhere more closely to advanced treatment guidelines, to incorporate new findings into patient care, and to conduct research that gives desperately ill patients more options.

U.Va. specialties listed in the new guide and their rankings among hospitals nationwide are: hormonal disorders, 5; neurology and neurosurgery, 14; ear, nose and throat, 19; urology, 20; orthopedics, 21; cancer, 22; gynecology, 25; digestive disorders, 28; respiratory disorders, 31; kidney disease, 41.

We're delighted that our clinical departments continue to receive such national recognition, said R. Edward Howell, vice president and chief executive officer of the U.Va. Medical Center. It is also clear that our clinical strengths are well aligned to meet the needs of the citizens of Virginia.

This is the magazine's 13th annual edition of America's Best Hospitals, in which 205 top medical centers were ranked out of 6,045. To qualify, a hospital must be a member of the Council of Teaching Hospitals, affiliated with a medical school or provide at least nine of the 17 specified items of medical technology.

The hospitals were assessed using a three-part model that combines reputation, mortality and a group of care-related factors such as nursing.

These programs, as well as many others at U.Va., demonstrate the best in collaboration across patient care, research and teaching, said Tim Garson, vice president and dean of the U.Va. School of Medicine. Each part of our mission serves the other. For example, we translate our research from the laboratory to making our patients better; our students and our faculty teach us to be better doctors.

July 12, 2002