The University of Virginia's Medical Center ranked among the best in the nation again in U.S. News & World Report's 2004 edition of "America's Best Hospitals."
The rankings, in their 15th year, were printed in the magazine's July 12 issue and evaluated over 6,000 national hospitals in 17 departmental categories. Of the 17 categories, nine of the Medical Center's departments -- endocrinology, ear, nose and throat, urology, digestive disorders, gynecology, cancer, orthopedics, neurosurgery and kidney disease -- ranked in the top 50.
The Center's endocrinology department had the highest categorical ranking at fifth in the nation among hormonal disorder departments.
"Any one of our departments making this list at all puts us in a group of the top hospitals in the country," said Dr. Arthur Garson Jr. M.D., M.P.H, vice president and dean of the School of Medicine.
The Center's top rankings are nothing new. The report and others like it have consistently ranked the University's hospital highly.
"The hospital gets recognized in this way frequently," said Garson. "There are a number of ways in which we get recognized that I think simply say to a patient that we are a great place to come."
"Our department is consistently ranked in the top 20," said Mike Kines, director and administrator for head and neck surgery and otolaryngology -- associated with the ear, nose and throat department. "The ranking gets the attention of doctors who refer patients and patients that want to refer themselves. People do look at these rankings very definitely."
Garson and others attribute the Center's top rankings to the departments' abilities to perform specialized procedures and offer unique treatment.
"Our relatively unique expertise is that we go from basic science to clinical application within the same group of people," Garson said. "There are a number of areas in the school of medicine where this relationship has been particularly successful."
While Center officials and administrators are pleased with another year of favorable evaluations, they say improvement is always a goal.
"Keeping a large number of departments in this top group is important in terms of recognition," Garson said. "There are some areas that -- simply by the way data are collected -- make us think that we really need to be on the list. There are some areas that we strive to get on the list next year."
External review can be helpful in assessing a department's performance and progress, too.
"We are always looking to improve," Kines said. "We look at the aspects that could make us better in the eyes of the ranking system, and better is always better."
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