UW Hospital and Clinics Named State's Top Hospital for Sixth Consecutive Year
Nine specialties ranked in nation’s top 50 by U.S. News
Share
Tweet
University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics is ranked among the nation’s top 50 hospitals in nine medical specialties, and retained its position as the best hospital in Wisconsin. The rankings are included in the 2017-18 edition of the Best Hospitals guide produced by U.S. News & World Report.
Gynecology was the most highly ranked medical specialty at UW at #13, a status that places it in the top one percent of US hospitals. Urology was ranked #16. The hospital was also ranked as “high-performing” in cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology. High-performing hospitals are those in the top 25 percent within a given specialty.
The rankings of 16 specialties involve more than 4500 hospitals around the country. Only 152 hospitals in the nation were ranked in at least one medical specialty. Most of the data underlying the rankings came from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey Database, which U.S. News calls “the most comprehensive and dependable database of information on institutional health care.” Measurements include the presence of advanced technologies, patient volume, nursing intensity and the presence of a high-level trauma center.
UW Hospital and Clinics is nationally ranked in the following specialties: Cancer (36); Nephrology (28); Gastroenterology and GI surgery (37); Neurology and Neurosurgery (43); Orthopedics (45); Geriatrics (31); Pulmonology (28); Gynecology (13); Urology (16).
“As we embark on a new strategic plan that will move us to even higher levels of performance, we are deeply honored to once again perform extremely well in the US News rankings,” said UW Health CEO Dr. Alan Kaplan. “At the same time, no single measurement perfectly captures the quality of a hospital and the experience of its patients, so we pay attention to many other measures as well.”
Twelve of the 16 categories ranked are assessed based on a combination of data on patient safety, survival, staffing and a survey taken by physicians. In four categories (psychiatry, ophthalmology, rheumatology and rehabilitation), only a reputational score is used.
UW Hospital and Clinics, with 505 beds, is part of the UW Health system, which also includes American Family Children’s Hospital; the UW Medical Foundation (physicians’ group); the Carbone Cancer Center; the UW School of Medicine and Public Health; SwedishAmerican in Rockford, Illinois; the UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital; UW Health at The American Center; and UnityPoint Health-Meriter, which recently concluded a joint operating agreement with UW Health. The hospital is a major employer in Dane County and a Level One trauma center for adults and children.
