U.S. News and World Report: MUSC ranks as state’s number one hospital
July 22, 2015
CHARLESTON, SC – MUSC was named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the country’s best hospitals in the treatment of ear, nose and throat (ENT) disorders, as well as the number one hospital in South Carolina.
“I am proud to hear that U.S. News and World Report has ranked MUSC as the #1 hospital in South Carolina. This award reflects the excellence the MUSC teams pursue every day to deliver the highest level of quality and safe care for every MUSC patient. At the same time, we are also teaching the next generation of care providers and conducting the latest research innovations in health care so we can help all of South Carolina achieve this excellence,” said Patrick S. Cawley, M.D., Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the MUSC Medical Center and MUSC Vice President for Clinical Operations.
In addition to the national ranking for ENT, MUSC was also categorized as a “high-performing” facility for the treatment of nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics and pulmonology and urology.
Paul Lambert, M.D., director of the MUSC Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, was pleased his division was recognized as one of the nation’s leading ENT centers.
“It is a nice accolade. I think it reflects the quality of our faculty, our clinical programs, and our research enterprise,” Lambert said. “We’ve got one the largest faculties for a university hospital in the country. We have great depth at each of the subspecialty areas…and bring depth and diversity to each of the subspecialty areas in terms of training background. Another thing we really do well is we’re probably in the top ten in the country with our involvement in clinical trials. Our department is really at the cutting edge of investigation of basic science as well as clinical trials.”
U.S. News & World Report unveiled the 26th edition of the Best Hospitals rankings at usnews.com/besthospitals. Designed to help patients with life-threatening or rare conditions identify hospitals that excel in treating the most difficult cases, Best Hospitals includes consumer-friendly data and information on nearly 5,000 medical centers nationwide. In the 2015-16 rankings, 137 U.S. hospitals performed well enough in complex care to be nationally ranked in one or more specialties. U.S. News also identified 520 Best Regional Hospitals, ranking them by state and metro area based on their performance in both complex and common care.
The Best Hospitals methodology measures patient volume, risk-adjusted survival rates and adequacy of nurse staffing, among other care-related indicators. U.S. News further expanded the number of physicians surveyed for the 2015-16 rankings.
“Patients deserve high-quality information on hospitals,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News. “We strive to provide them with the most comprehensive data available so they can make more informed decisions together with their doctor about where to undergo treatment.”
The specialty rankings and data were produced for U.S. News by RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. U.S. News used both the specialty rankings and its recently published Best Hospitals for Common Care ratings to produce the Best Regional Hospitals.
U.S. News first began publishing hospital rankings in 1990 as part of an expanding group of consumer advice products. During the past 26 years, the Best Hospitals rankings have helped guide millions of patients and their families to high-quality hospital care when they need it most.
About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents, and has nearly 13,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $1.7 billion. MUSC operates a 750-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children’s Hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (one of 68 National Cancer Institute designated centers) Level I Trauma Center and Institute of Psychiatry. For more information on academic information or clinical services, visit www.musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit www.muschealth.com.
