UW Hospital and Clinics Gains U.S. News Rankings

MADISON – University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison was ranked among the top hospitals in America, according to survey results released from U.S. News & World Report for 2008.

UW Hospital, the teaching hospital for the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, was ranked in four categories:

• Cancer (30)
• Ear, nose and throat (33)
• Kidney disorders (28)
• Urology (33)

"I am extraordinarily proud of this achievement," said Donna Katen-Bahensky, UW Hospital and Clinics president and CEO. "To be named among the nation's top hospitals is truly significant and is evidence of the hard work and commitment to quality patient care carried out by all of our physicians, staff, residents, students and volunteers."

Out of the 5,435 medical centers in the U.S., only 170 hospitals were included among the rankings for various specialties. According to U.S. News & World Report, rankings were determined by a combination of evaluation factors.

To be considered, a hospital had to meet at least one of three requirements: membership in the Council of Teaching Hospitals, affiliation with a medical school, or availability of at least six of 13 key technologies such as robotic surgery. This year, nearly two-thirds of all hospitals failed this first test.

U.S. News also said that "if they passed, hospitals had to perform a certain number of specified procedures on Medicare inpatients in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The number varied by specialty. Or the hospital had to have been nominated by at least one physician in U.S. News surveys in 2006, 2007 and 2008."

Date published: 7/11/2008