July 16, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Eight UAB Hospital specialty programs are among the nation's top 50 - and six are in the top 25 - of the 16 categories evaluated at 4,861 U.S. hospitals this year by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings appear in the magazine's 19th annual "America's Best Hospitals" issue, accessible online July 16 and at newsstands Tuesday, July 21.
With its eight ranked programs, UAB Hospital was one of only 174 hospitals, or about 3 percent of U.S. institutions studied -and the only hospital in Alabama or Mississippi - to rank high enough in even one specialty to make the magazine's national "Best Hospitals" list.
Highlights for UAB Hospital this year include:
- Rheumatology program, 8th; 18th consecutive year ranked
- Kidney disorders, 13th
- Geriatrics, 16th
- Respiratory disorders, 21st
- Cancer, 23rd
- Urology, 24th
- Gynecology, 26th
- Heart and Heart Surgery, 27th
"UAB is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate patient care, and we are very pleased to be recognized once again in this important listing," said UAB Hospital CEO Michael Waldrum, M.D., MS, MBA. "It is a credit to the caring and professional UAB Hospital employees and medical staff who strive each and every day to make a difference in people's lives."
According to the magazine's published methodology, the ranking for 12 of the categories is based on three equal parts: reputation, mortality and a mix of care-related factors such as nursing and patient services. The 50 hospitals in each of these specialties with the highest scores are listed. Rankings for ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation and rheumatology are based strictly on reputational scores, and the magazine lists the top 25 programs for each.
About the UAB Health System
The UAB Health System includes all of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's patient care activities, including UAB Hospital, the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital and The Kirklin Clinic. UAB is the state of Alabama's largest employer and an internationally renowned research university and academic health center whose professional schools and specialty patient care programs are consistently ranked as among the nation's top 50; find more information at www.uab.edu and www.uabhealth.org.