July 21--Northwestern Memorial Hospital ranked No. 11 in a list of the country's top hospitals, compiled by U.S. News World Report.
The hospital, which has made the list's "Best Hospitals Honor Roll" of top hospitals in the U.S. for four consecutive years, slipped a notch from last year. Northwestern was also the top-ranked local hospital and the highest-ranking hospital in the state, according to U.S. News.
The top spot went to Massachusetts General Hospital, which bumped former No. 1 holder Mayo Clinic into the No. 2 spot. U.S. News' "Honor Roll" features 15 best hospitals that scored near the top in at least six specialties.
The report, which covers nearly 5,000 medical centers nationwide, scores hospitals on a number of quality and performance factors including patient survival rates, safety data and the adequacy of nursing staffing levels.
In a statement, Northwestern said that it applauds the "talented physicians, nurses and staff who have earned this recognition."
The top 15 hospitals in the U.S. News World Report ranking are:
--Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
--Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
--Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Md. (tie)
--UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles (tie)
--Cleveland Clinic
--Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
--New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell
--University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco
--Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian, Philadelphia
--Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University
--Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
--New York University Langone Medical Center, New York
--University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh
--Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
--Stanford Health-Stanford Hospital, Stanford, Calif.
The top 10 hospitals in Illinois, according to the ranking, are:
--Northwestern Memorial Hospital
--Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
--Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood
--University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago
--Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn
--Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, Winfield
--Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge
--St. Alexius Medical Center, Hoffman Estates
--NorthShore Evanston Hospital, Evanston
--Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Elk Grove Village
crshropshire@tribpub.com
