UF Health Shands Hospital tied for top in state in 2016 U.S. News hospital rankings

University of Florida Health Shands Hospital is now tied for top adult hospital in Florida, according to the 2016-2017 U.S. News & World Report adult specialty rankings of the nation’s hospitals, released today (Aug. 2).

UF Health has been ranked nationally in eight medical specialties, up from seven in the 2015-2016 rankings.

Earlier this summer U.S. News also recognized UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital as one of the nation’s best hospitals for children in nine medical specialties, seven of which are the highest-ranked in Florida.

“These rankings reflect our unwavering dedication to providing high-quality care for our patients, and our focus on continually evolving our standard of care,” said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of UF Health. “Our continued rise in the rankings validates the work that our physicians, nurses and staff do every day.”

U.S. News & World Report assessed 16 adult medical specialties ranging from cancer to urology in approximately 5,000 hospitals.

“As ever, it is UF Health’s goal to develop a health care system centered around our patients’ needs,” said Michael L. Good, M.D., dean of the UF College of Medicine. “Our faculty and staff’s attention to providing positive outcomes for our patients is reflected in these rankings.”

Nephrology, tied for 11th, is the highest-ranking UF Health specialty. Also ranked are neurology and neurosurgery (21st), pulmonology (25th), gynecology (29th), geriatrics (33rd), urology (42nd), diabetes and endocrinology (tied for 48th) and cancer (49th). Neurology and neurosurgery jumped to 21st from last year’s 40th place. Of these, UF Health is highest-ranked in Florida in four specialties — gynecology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, and pulmonology.

Mark Segal, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the division of nephrology, hypertension and renal transplantation within the UF College of Medicine’s department of medicine, credits nephrology’s ranking in part to an effort to provide a range of specialty services to patients from across the state. In 2010, the division began a campaign to provide subspecialty care for complicated kidney diseases, providing a place for referring physicians from across the state to send patients.

“We have to give patients a really great reason to travel five hours to come see us. By having these subspecialty clinics, we feel they receive great, specialized clinical care for their investment in time, and these subspecialty clinics have enhanced our reputation among referring physicians in Florida,” Segal said. “To be tied for 11th is a real honor.”

UF Health was also rated as “high performing” in three specialties: cardiology and heart surgery, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, and orthopedics.

The specialty rankings are based on three dimensions of health care: patient safety and survival; resources related to patient care, such as the hospital’s volume and nurse staffing; and the hospital’s reputation among specialists for developing and sustaining the delivery of high-quality care for patients who have the most challenging conditions or need difficult procedures.

While the specialty rankings focus on patients with complicated diseases that come to UF Health, many people still need routine care — and the U.S. News & World Report has also begun evaluating these kinds of procedures and conditions. Among these, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, colon cancer surgery, hip replacement, lung cancer surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure were given a “high performing” rating at UF Health.

“At UF Health, we focus on care not only for patients with rare conditions, but also the everyday health conditions that plague us all,” said Ed Jimenez, chief executive officer of UF Health Shands. “These rankings and ratings show that our physicians, nurses and staff represent a range of expertise, and are fully equipped to take good care of not only patients here in Gainesville, but patients who travel across the state and country to find care here as well.”

UF Health Jacksonville was also recognized for excellence in patient care, ranked No. 3 in the Jacksonville metro area and tied for No. 18 overall among 255 health care organizations in the state. UF Health Jacksonville was singled out for its treatment in several areas of patient care, receiving high-performing marks in the specialties of nephrology and urology, and high-performing marks for the care of patients with heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Of the nearly 5,000 hospitals assessed, 153 were ranked in at least one specialty and 1,628 received a high-performing rating in one or more specialties, procedures or conditions.

In June, U.S. News & World Report recognized the UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital in nine medical specialties. The children’s hospital was ranked in diabetes and endocrinology (tied for 18th), cancer (22nd), neonatology (23rd), cardiology and heart surgery (24th), pulmonology (27th), nephrology (tied for 32nd), gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery (40th), urology (40th) and neurology and neurosurgery (46th).

The new hospital rankings and methodology are available at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals.