Baptist Medical Center and Baptist Beaches Named Among U.S. News' Best Hospitals
Jacksonville, Florida, March 29, 2011 -- Baptist Medical Center and Baptist Medical Center Beaches have been named have been named among U.S. News & World Report's first-ever Best Hospitals metro area ranking, for the Jacksonville Metro Area. The listings are available online at www.usnews.com/hospitals.
To be ranked as a U.S. News Best Hospital in its metro area, a hospital had to score in the top 25 percent among its peers in at least one of 16 medical specialties.
Baptist Medical Center (which includes Baptist Downtown and Baptist South on the same hospital license) ranked among the top 25 percent in nine of 16 medical specialties, the most of any hospital in the Jacksonville Metro Area.
- Diabetes & endocrinology
- Ear, nose & throat
- Gastroenterology
- Geriatrics
- Gynecology
- Heart & heart surgery
- Neurology & neurosurgery
- Pulmonology
- Urology
Community hospital Baptist Medical Center Beaches ranked among the top 25 percent for kidney disorders.
The new U.S. News rankings recognize 622 hospitals in or near major cities with a record of high performance in key medical specialties, including 132 of the 152 hospitals already identified as the best in the nation. There are nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide.
U.S. News created Best Hospitals more than 20 years ago to identify hospitals exceptionally skilled in handling the most difficult cases, such as brain tumors typically considered inoperable and delicate pancreatic procedures.
The new metro area rankings are relevant to a much wider range of healthcare consumers. They are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital. Patients and their families will have a far better chance of finding a U.S. News-ranked hospital in their health insurance network and might not have to travel to get care at a high-performing hospital.
"All of our Baptist Health hospitals provide outstanding care in a broad range of medical and surgical specialties for adults and children, right here in our own community," says Hugh Greene, president and CEO of Baptist Health of Northeast Florida. "This latest recognition signifies that residents of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia can receive the advanced care at Baptist Health hospitals that they'd expect at a nationally known hospital in a much larger city. And they can take comfort in knowing they can be diagnosed and treated, and can heal, near their home and the support they need."
This isn't the first U.S News recognition for Baptist Health. In U.S. News & World Report's 2010-2011 issue of "America's Best Children's Hospitals," Wolfson Children's Hospital ranked 28th in the nation for pediatric diabetes and endocrinology. In 2009-2010, Baptist Medical Center ranked among the top 50 hospitals nationally for neurosurgery and neurology, and in 2007, Baptist was named among the top 50 for digestive disorders.
