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Holly Korschun, 404-727-3990, hkorsch@emory.edu
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Janet Christenbury, 404-727-8599, jmchris@emory.edu
July 17, 2003


 



'U.S. News' Ranks Emory University Hospital Among Nation's Best Hospitals In Seven Specialties



ATLANTA--U.S. News & World Report has named Emory University Hospital one of America's Best Hospitals in seven medical specialties, including cardiology, where Emory is again included in the top 10 for the 13th time since the magazine's Best Hospital rankings began in 1990. This year Emory's program in heart and heart surgery finished 7th and was the only heart program in Georgia included in the nation's top 50.

Also included in this year's rankings were Emory's programs in eyes (15), geriatrics (41), gynecology (39), kidney disease (28), psychiatry (17), and urology (32). Each of those programs also were the only ones in Georgia listed in their specialty areas.

"We are delighted that the Emory Heart Center has been acknowledged once again as one of the most highly regarded cardiology centers in the U.S.," says Douglas C. Morris, MD, director of the Emory Heart Center. "We believe the fact our U.S. News and World Report ranking has risen a notch reflects the growing recognition among our medical colleagues across the nation that Emory provides some of the very best cardiology care available anywhere. We are committed to continuing our legacy of excellence as a caring, innovative and highly experienced center for every aspect of cardiology care."

"Emory's consistent presence in the U.S. News rankings underscores our commitment to the highest standards of achievement in delivering the best medical care," said John Fox, president and chief executive officer of Emory Healthcare. "Emory University Hospital is singled out because of the nature of the rankings structure, but these high rankings reflect the quality of all the components of the healthcare system, including The Emory Clinic, Emory Crawford Long Hospital and Wesley Woods Center, and those programs that cross the entire healthcare system such as the Emory Heart Center and Emory Eye Center."

Michael M.E. Johns, MD, chief executive officer of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, says, "To be recognized again as one of America's best hospitals -- and in so many specialties -- is a credit and tribute to our physicians and also our nurses, medical technologists and support staff across the healthcare care system." He also noted that the magazine recognized the importance of teaching hospitals.

This year's rankings, within 17 specialty areas, included 203 top medical centers culled from an initial group of 6,003 hospitals across the country. They represent hospitals that are members of the Council of Teaching Hospitals, are affiliated with a medical school, and/or have advanced medical technology. According to the magazine, these medical centers excel because their doctors perform large numbers of difficult and risky procedures, they adhere more closely to advanced treatment guidelines, they more frequently incorporate new findings into patient care, and they conduct research that gives very ill patients additional treatment options.

Thirteen of the 17 specialty areas ranked by U.S. News were assessed on a quality-of-care index that assigned equal weight to reputation, patient mortality, and a mix of other factors including ratio of nurses to beds and the presence of various technology services. Eye care, psychiatry, rehabilitation and pediatrics are ranked solely on their professional reputation, based on a survey of 150 randomly selected, board-certified physicians asked to name the top five programs in their specialty.

Emory Hospitals include Emory University Hospital, a 579-bed hospital located on the Emory University campus in northeast Atlanta; Emory Crawford Long Hospital, a 553-bed, community-based hospital in Atlanta's midtown; and Wesley Woods Geriatric Hospital, a 100-bed specialty hospital located on the Emory campus. Emory Hospitals are components of Emory Healthcare, the most comprehensive health care system in metropolitan Atlanta. Other components of Emory Healthcare include The Emory Clinic, Emory Children's Center, the jointly owned Emory-Adventist Hospital, and EHCA, LLC, a limited liability company created in collaboration with HCA.


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