UF Health hospitals recognized among nation’s best

University of Florida Health Shands Hospital has been recognized among the nation’s best hospitals in three adult medical specialties, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2014-15 Best Hospitals rankings released this morning (July 15).

Overall, UF Health Shands Hospital was recognized as one of the best hospitals in North Florida and in the state as a whole. UF Health Jacksonville also was recognized as one of the best hospitals in North Florida.

U.S. News & World Report analyzed nearly 5,000 hospitals across the country to determine rankings in 16 adult medical specialties. Only 3 percent of these hospitals earned top 50 rankings in at least one specialty.

Specialty programs at UF Health Shands Hospital that received national recognition include: nephrology (25th), cardiology and heart surgery (41st), and pulmonology (47th).

“At UF Health we are dedicated to providing safe, quality care to our patients, and advancing discoveries to find new and better ways to treat them. As an academic health center, this recognition reflects the commitment our faculty and staff have to our missions of patient care, education and research and the unwavering dedication they have to the people who entrust their care to us,” said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of UF Health.

In addition to being ranked among the nation’s top 50 hospitals in three specialties, UF Health Shands Hospital also was listed as “high-performing” in eight additional specialties, including: cancer, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, gynecology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics and urology.

UF Health Jacksonville was listed as high-performing in nine specialties, including: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, geriatrics, gynecology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, pulmonology and urology.

Only 15 percent of hospitals were listed as high-performing in any specialty.

The rankings take into consideration the reputation of each hospital, patient survival rates, and a set of care-related factors such as nursing and patient services. Medical centers are also assessed for competence providing complex care for patients who are high-risk.

Earlier this year, UF Health Shands Children's Hospital was recognized in seven pediatric medical specialties in the 2014-15 U.S. News Best Children’s Hospitals rankings: diabetes and endocrinology (14th), cardiology and heart surgery (27th), gastroenterology (34th), pulmonology (35th), neonatology (36th), cancer (41st) and nephrology (41st).