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Contact: Peter Jump
(434) 924-1501
prj4p@virginia.edu
UVa Health System Specialities Honored By U.S. News & World Report
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va, July 10, 2006 - Five medical specialties at the University of Virginia Health System are listed in the 17th annual survey of "America's Best Hospitals" from U.S. News & World Report. The rankings appear in the magazine's July 17 issue and can be found online at http://www.usnews.com/usnews/home.htm.
UVa specialties ranked in this year's guide from U.S News are: endocrinology (6); gynecology (25); ear, nose and throat (26); cancer (31); and heart (49). UVa's endocrinology (hormonal disorders) program has consistently ranked 5th or 6th in the nation by U.S. News since the 1990s, while the UVa heart program makes a return to the list this year.
"It is gratifying to be named once again as one of America's best hospitals in each of these specialties, which reflects the excellent care we provide to our patients," said R. Edward Howell, vice president and chief executive officer of the UVa Medical Center. "As a premier medical research center in Virginia, we are committed to finding new treatments, tests and technologies that benefit our patients from the Commonwealth and beyond."
According to U.S. News, out of 5,189 hospitals studied, only 3 percent, 176 in all, are ranked in one or more of the 16 specialties in this year's "America's Best Hospitals." Ranked hospitals tend to offer more advanced treatments, use new research in patient care and conduct more research that gives critically ill patients better options in their treatment.
Most ranked institutions are referral centers, says the U.S. News website, where the sickest patients are sent for advanced care. Such hospitals follow, and pioneer, new treatment guidelines. They also conduct bench-to-bedside research and exploit the latest advances in imaging, surgical devices, and other technologies.