December 19, 2013

Year in review 2013: VUMC lauded on numerous national ranking lists

VUMC was lauded on numerous national ranking lists during the year.

During the past year, Vanderbilt University Medical Center again placed highly in several rankings conducted by U.S. News and World Report.

• In the 2013-14 edition of “America’s Best Hospitals,” VUMC had four specialties ranked among the top 10 in the nation, and equaled an all-time best with 11 out of a possible 16 specialty programs being ranked among the top 50 in their respective fields.

The following VUMC specialty programs ranked among the top 50 in their respective fields: Cancer (28); Cardiology and Heart Surgery (34); Ear, Nose and Throat (8); Gastroenterology (24); Geriatrics (43); Gynecology (24); Nephrology (10); Neurology and Neurosurgery (34); Orthopaedics (43); Pulmonology (9); Urology (6). The program in Diabetes and Endocrinology also received recognition as “High Performing,” a distinction for top regional programs.

VUMC was also again lauded as both the No. 1 hospital in Tennessee and No. 1 in the Metro Nashville area in the magazine’s “Regional Recognitions” segment of its annual ranking.

• The School of Medicine retained its rank of No. 14 among the nation’s 114 fully accredited Research Schools of Medicine in U.S. News’ Best Graduate Schools ranking.

• Once again, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt was named among the top pediatric health care hospitals in U.S. News’ annual Best Children’s Hospitals list, achieving national rankings for nine out of 10 of its pediatric specialty programs. The ranked specialty programs were Cancer (36), Cardiology and Heart Surgery (23), Gastroenterology & GI Surgery (32), Neonatology (16), Neurology and Neurosurgery (43), Orthopaedics (34), Pediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology (29), Pulmonology (19) and Urology (4).

• Children’s Hospital earned two top spots among Parents magazine’s best of children’s hospital lists.

The magazine named Children’s Hospital to the No. 13 spot among the 25 best children’s hospitals, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ranked eighth in the nation for the best care of premature infants. The rankings are in the March issue of Parents.

• VUMC was again named among the “100 Great Hospitals in America” by Becker’s Hospital Review.

To create the list, Becker’s Hospital Review editorial team analyzed data from numerous sources, including U.S. News & World Report, Truven Health Analytics’ 100 Top Hospitals, HealthGrades, Magnet Recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the Studer Group and the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program to establish the 2013 list.

• Vanderbilt University Hospital earned an “A” Hospital Safety Score from the Leapfrog Group, placing VUH among the safest hospitals in the nation.

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage that works to encourage health care safety, quality and affordability.

• For the ninth consecutive year, VUMC was named among the nation’s 100 “most-wired” hospitals and health systems for its innovative efforts in medical technology.

The 2013 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study was conducted by Hospitals and Health Networks magazine in cooperation with McKesson Corp., the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and the American Hospital Association (AHA).