Memorial Sloan Kettering named best cancer hospital on U.S. News & World Report list
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has been ranked the No. 1 cancer hospital in the nation, according to the 2014-2015 edition of “U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals” survey.
Besides its cancer care ranking, Memorial Sloan Kettering was ranked No. 4 for gynecology, No. 9 for urology and No. 28 for ear, nose and throat. It was recognized as “high performing” in the fields of gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery and geriatrics.
Craig B. Thompson
“We are delighted and honored to once again be a top hospital for cancer. But this recognition is really a reflection of an entire community of exceptional people — our dedicated staff of almost 13,000 and our patients, who have placed their trust in our care,” Craig B. Thompson, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering’s president and CEO, said in a press release. “We may be No. 1 in the national rankings for this year, but our patients are No. 1 to us every day.”
In cancer, from a list of more than 900 hospitals, the top 10 hospitals in the report included:
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
- Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
- Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, Boston
- Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
- University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
- UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco
- UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles
- Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford, Calif.
U.S. News & World Report published its first report on hospitals in 1990. Since that time, the report has grown to include 16 specialties: cancer; neurology and neurosurgery; cardiology and heart surgery; ophthalmology; diabetes and endocrinology; orthopedics; ear, nose and throat; pulmonology; gastroenterology and GI surgery; psychiatry; geriatrics; rehabilitation; gynecology; rheumatology; nephrology; and urology. The list has changed over the years. HIV/AIDS was removed from the list in 1998 once its treatment had moved primarily to outpatient settings. In 2007, pediatrics was separated from the list and a separate report on pediatric hospitals was developed.
The data for the report are mostly derived from information provided by the American Hospital Association using a metric U.S. News & World Report called an “index of hospital quality,” based on structure, process, outcomes and patient safety. Structural measures include the amount and types of technology provided, the availability of nursing staff, and other patient services. The process of care measures the ways care is delivered, from diagnosis to treatment, prevention and patient education. Outcomes are based on risk-adjusted overall survival. Because mortality is a key factor in the complex weighting system employed by U.S. News & World Report, ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation and rheumatology are judged using a reputation metric.
To be eligible for inclusion in the report, a hospital must be a member in the council of teaching hospitals, be affiliated with a medical school, or have at least 200 beds and associated staff or at least 100 beds and at least four “key technologies” such as advanced imaging devices, a cardiac ICU and robotic surgery. Other criteria include statistics related to volume and discharge.
A dashboard is available for hospitals to communicate directly with U.S. News & World Report and provide information, download report methodology and read related articles.
Data reprinted with permission from U.S. News & World Report.