For 17th Consecutive Year, Only Missouri Hospital Ranked Among America’s Elite
July 16, 2009, ST. LOUIS — For the 17th consecutive year, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and its physician partners at Washington University School of Medicine, is the only St. Louis area hospital or medical institution listed among America’s elite medical centers in the U.S.News & World Report “America’s Best Hospitals” issue. Barnes-Jewish earned honors as part of the newsmagazine’s “Honor Roll,” ranking 9th nationally while ranking in 15 individual specialties.
Barnes-Jewish is the only “Honor Roll” hospital within a 250-mile radius of St. Louis to be recognized and is the only St. Louis hospital to be ranked in more than one category.
The standards used to rank “America’s Best Hospitals” are rigorous. Of 4,861 U.S. hospitals, only 21 hospitals made the “Honor Roll,” a list reserved for medical centers with very high rankings in at least six specialties. Overall, only 174 have ranked specialties and only hospitals earning high marks in six or more of 16 select specialties made the “Honor Roll” of America’s best hospitals.
By individual specialty, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine rankings are:
• Kidney disease — 8
• Neurology & neurosurgery — 8
• Respiratory disorders — 9
• Ear, nose & throat — 10
• Endocrinology — 11
• Orthopedics — 11
• Heart & heart surgery — 12
• Ophthalmology — 14
• Psychiatry — 14
• Digestive disorders — 15
• Rheumatology — 18
• Urology — 21
• Geriatrics — 22
• Cancer — 24
• Gynecology — 31
The 2009 guide to “America’s Best Hospitals” appears online Thursday, July 16 at www.usnews.com/besthospitals and in the August issue of the national newsmagazine, which hits newsstands July 20.
“Consistently ranking on the U.S.News ‘Honor Roll’ places Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University in elite company,” says Andy Ziskind, MD, Barnes-Jewish Hospital president. “When you combine the fact we’re able to offer our patients treatments few in the country can with the compassion of our caring nurses and staff, you realize that’s why we’re national leaders in medicine.”
"Barnes-Jewish Hospital's doctors, nurses and caregivers earn their excellent reputation by providing world-class care to patients every day. We are proud of their continued recognition as one of the best hospitals in America," says Steven H. Lipstein, BJC HealthCare president and chief executive officer. The collaboration between Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is one that is leading the way to innovative treatments and the future of medicine. Congratulations to the staff at both of these nationally ranked institutions."
The current “America’s Best Hospitals” methodology was devised in 1993 at the University of Chicago. The 2009 rankings were produced by RTI international in Triangle Park, NC. Hospitals had to meet a series of progressively tougher standards to be ranked. To be considered at all, a hospital had to satisfy at least one of three requirements: membership in the Council of Teaching Hospitals, medical school affiliation, and key technology-related services. From there, hospitals were ranked based on four elements: reputation, death rate, patient safety and such care-related factors as nursing and patient services.
For the sixth year a hospital’s Magnet status affected its standing. Barnes-Jewish Hospital was named St. Louis’ first Magnet Hospital in 2003 by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, formally recognizing the hospital as meeting high standards of nursing excellence.
Four specialty areas — ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation and rheumatology — were ranked by reputation only. For the remaining 12 specialties — cancer; heart and heart surgery; digestive disorders; ear, nose and throat; geriatrics; gynecology; endocrinology; kidney disease; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; respiratory disorders; and urology — U.S.News combined each hospital's reputation ranking with quantitative medical data to determine the final scores.
Barnes-Jewish Hospital is a member of BJC HealthCare, which provides a full range of health care services through its 13 hospitals and more than 100 health care sites in Missouri and Illinois. Barnes-Jewish Hospital is also affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine, ranked as one of the nation’s top five medical schools by U.S.News & World Report.