UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital is among the nation’s Best Regional Hospitals, according to U.S. News and World Report. St. Luke’s is ranked third in Iowa and is recognized as one of America’s high-performing hospitals in five specialties in the U.S. News & World Report 2014-15 edition. The annual U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings, now in its 25th year, recognize hospitals that excel in treating the most challenging patients.
U.S. News & World Report indicated in its write-up that St. Luke’s performed nearly at the level of nationally ranked U.S. News Best Hospitals in five adult specialties. The report further stated St. Luke’s scored high in patient safety, demonstrating commitment to reducing accidents and medical mistakes.
“We’re very proud to be once again included in this prestigious list,” said Ted Townsend, UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital president and CEO. “Our inclusion in the U.S. News & World Report list – points to the quality of care available right here in Cedar Rapids. Individuals do not need to travel outside of the community to receive top notch care.”
According to U.S. News & World Report - St. Luke’s is ranked high-performing in five specialty areas:
Gastroenterology and GI surgery
Geriatrics
Orthopedics
Pulmonology
Urology
U.S. News made several changes to the Best Hospitals rankings methodology this year, including adding new data and greater emphasis on patient safety. Patient safety metrics now account for 10 percent of each hospital’s overall score, in most specialties – twice as much as in past years. The role of hospital reputation, as determined through a national survey of medical specialists, diminished by 5 percentage points.
“U.S. News strives to provide patients and their families with the most comprehensive data available on hospitals,” said Avery Comarow, U.S. News health rankings editor. “With an estimated 400,000 deaths occurring in hospitals each year from medical errors, measuring safety performance is critical to understanding how well a hospital cares for its patients.”
The research organization RTI International, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, conducted the physician survey and produced the Best Hospitals methodology and national rankings under contract with U.S. News.
U.S. News first began publishing hospital rankings in 1990 as part of an expanding group of consumer advice products. Over the past 25 years, the Best Hospitals rankings have guided millions of patients and their families to high-quality hospital care when they need it most.
The rankings have been published at health.usnews.com/best-hospitals and will appear in print in the U.S. News Best Hospitals 2015 guidebook.