Hospital programs rank high
UW Hospital and Clinics ranks among the top 3 percent of the nation’s major medical centers in 12 medical specialties, according to this year’s edition of U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” guide.
The U.S. News guide offers an assessment of care in 17 specialties at 1,878 of the nation’s teaching hospitals. UW Hospital ranked among the top 3 percent in the following categories:
- Cancer
- Digestive disorders
- Heart care
- Hormonal disorders
- Kidney disease
- Orthopedics
- Respiratory disorders
- Rheumatology
- Urology
- Eye care
- Ear, nose and throat
- Gynecology
“All of us are thrilled to have this national recognition of the quality of care at this hospital,” says Donna Sollenberger, UW Hospital chief executive officer. “I’m very proud of the hundreds of people — physicians, nurses and staff — who work together every day to provide our patients with exceptional care. Our community and the state of Wisconsin are fortunate to have access to such an outstanding health care facility so close to home.”
Sollenberger adds that no individual ranking fully captures any institution’s overall quality of care. Because every methodology has its limitations, most experts agree that consistency over time through various methodologies is a more reliable indicator of quality of care.
Of the 6,116 hospitals in the United States, U. S. News analyzed care at 1,878 major teaching institutions that are at the forefront of sophisticated patient care. Four categories — pediatrics, psychiatry, eye care and rehabilitation — are ranked based on a reputational score alone. The other 13 categories are assessed based on reputation, mortality rates and a mix of other data. The magazine listed the top 50 hospitals in 13 of the 17 categories and various numbers of hospitals in the four categories ranked only by reputation.
UW Hospital is a non-profit institution operated since 1996 by a public authority board. It is the only Dane County hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
Renal transplants recognized
The University of Wisconsin organ transplant program shows patient and transplant organ survival rates above expected survival rates in kidney, liver, and kidney-pancreas transplants.
The United Network for Organ Sharing compiles and releases performance data for all 270 transplant centers in the nation. Its most recent report, released July 13, includes data on both patient and graft (transplant organ) survival at one year, and 34-month survival rates for transplants done between July 1, 1995 and June 30, 1997.
In every category, the UW program excelled: œ UW is one of only three centers in the nation with statistically superior graft survival after kidney transplant.
“These are extremely gratifying results,” says Hans Sollinger, chair of the division of transplant surgery at UW Hospital. “The patients in our region do not need to go anywhere else in the world to achieve the finest results; those results are available right here in Wisconsin.”
Sollinger also points out that because UW Hospital is a research facility, advances in surgical technique and immunosuppressant drugs are often implemented more quickly into the clinical setting.