The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania has been recognized as one of the best hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report for the seventh year in a row.
The July 28 issue ranks HUP 13th out of 17 hospitals across the country on its Honor Roll --a list of hospitals noted for excellence across a variety of specialties. The rankings are compiled out of a survey of 6,003 of the country's hospitals, and based on factors such as reputation, mortality rates and available technology.
Neighboring Children's Hospital of Philadelphia -- which is not owned by Penn -- was also honored by the magazine as the nation's leader in pediatric medicine, coming in ahead of Children's Hospital of Boston for the first time since U.S. News began publishing the annual report in 1990.
"We're very pleased, very excited honored, humbled -- everything that goes with getting a ranking in an honor like this," CHOP president and chief executive officer Steven Altschuler said.
"A ranking like this doesn't occur unless you have very, very dedicated employees," Altschuler said. "The way the survey is done in pediatrics, it's your reputation they're evaluating, and that's very dependent on dedicated employees."
HUP was the only hospital in the region to have been named to the Honor Roll, with distinctions noted in 14 specialities including cancer, digestive disorders, ear, nose and throat, gynecology, and neurology and neurosurgery.
"While the survey highlights some of our specialities, our presence on the Honor Roll reflects the continuum of patient care provided through the hard work of HUP physicians, nurses, technologists and staff," Executive Director of HUP Garry Scheib said in a statement.
Other hospitals garnering Honor Roll mentions include Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, which took the top three spots, respectively.
While rankings systems such as those used by U.S. News sometimes draw detractors, administrators said they felt the list was an accurate reflection of the hospitals' strengths.
"I think if you look at the Honor Roll hospitals, they're all interchangeable," Scheib said. "I think you could put any one of those hospitals in any of the ranks and you'd be safe in saying you have an outstanding hospital."
U.S. News ranked HUP at 13th last year as well. Between 1998 and 2001, HUP's position has varied between 10th and 14th in the rankings.
The high marks have stood as a positive sign for the Health System, even when it has weathered difficult times in recent years, including a $300 million deficit in 1998 --which it has since recovered from -- and four CEOs since 2000.
As HUP looks toward the future, maintaining a similarly high standard continues to be a goal.
"We certainly have that as our objective and all of actions going forward are aimed at making us an even better hospital and trying to advance the levels of care that we do provide," Scheib said.
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