Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2012 --- 6:30 a.m.

Press Release from UW Health:

MADISON – In its first-ever ranking of hospitals by state, US News & World Report magazine has named University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics the top hospital in Wisconsin – and among the nation’s top 50 hospitals in seven medical specialties.

The rankings, based on analysis of nearly 5,000 US hospitals, are included in the 2012-2013 edition of the magazine’s America’s Best Hospitals guide. Hospitals are ranked in 16 specialties to guide patients who need an especially high level of care.

UW Hospital and Clinics is nationally ranked in the following specialties:

Nephrology (24)
Geriatrics (29)
Pulmonology (33)
Ear, Nose and Throat (38)
Neurology and Neurosurgery (40)
Cancer (41)
Gynecology (44)

Only 150 hospitals make the US News national rankings in at least one category.

The magazine also named UW a “high-performing hospital” in cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology; orthopedics; and urology. High-performing hospitals must be in the top 25 percent within a given specialty.

“To be recognized as the top hospital in the state would be, on its own, a tremendous achievement,” said hospital president and CEO Donna Katen-Bahensky. “But just last month, the key federal agency measuring health-care quality named Wisconsin the second-highest in the nation based on more than 170 measures of quality. UW earned this top ranking among many well-performing hospitals. It is a tribute to years of hard work at every level of this organization, and that commitment to high value will continue.”

Twelve of the 16 categories ranked are assessed based on a combination of data on patient safety, survival and staffing along with survey results from physicians. In four categories (psychiatry, ophthalmology, rheumatology and rehabilitation) only a reputational score is used.

UW Hospital, with 566 beds, is part of the UW Health system, which also includes the UW Medical Foundation (physicians’ group); American Family Children’s Hospital; the Carbone Cancer Center; and UW School of Medicine and Public Health. The hospital is a major employer in Dane County and a Level One trauma center for both adults and children.