U.S. News Recognizes America's Top Hospitals
By Jennifer Larson, contributor
As chief executive officer and associate vice chancellor of the UCLA Health System in Los Angeles, David Feinberg is very proud of the fact that Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical was rated one of the top three medical centers in the United States this year by U.S. News & World Report.
But he doesn’t want anyone to lose sight of the most important thing: providing top-notch patient care.
“While we’re happy to be in such great company, we’re here to take care of the patients and friends who trust their lives to us,” he said.
This year marks the twentieth birthday of the U.S. News Media Group’s America’s Best Hospitals List. The guide includes rankings of 174 medical centers in 16 specialties. A special honor roll recognizes 21 medical centers that achieved high scores in at least six categories.
The U.S. News Media Group maintains a set of criteria for determining the rankings, which shows that nursing issues play an important role. One of the categories takes into account factors such as nurse staffing, as well as patient safety and reputation.
So perhaps it is not surprising that a majority of the top eleven medical centers on the list have received Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. That means those hospitals have been officially recognized for excellence in nursing.
Those Magnet hospitals include Mayo Clinic, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University and Duke University Medical Center. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation also has Magnet status.
Sarah Sinclair, MBA, RN, executive chief nursing officer for the Cleveland Clinic, which ranked fourth on the honor roll, explained that the nurses are a vital part of what makes the clinic a success—and the ranking reflects that.
“It recognizes the incredible efforts of all caregivers, but in particular the outstanding nurses we have at the Cleveland Clinic,” she said. “It also means that with this recognition, we become a magnet for nurses who want to work in an environment that embraces not only high technology but focuses on the patient and those that care for them.”
Feinberg also credited nurses for contributing to the success of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
“I think that our nursing staff is sensational and so comfortable in their leadership role in this institution,” he said, adding that because the hospital is a teaching hospital, the nurses are also extremely instrumental in helping each new group of physicians learn how to do their jobs the right way.
“They’re such an important ‘glue’ that holds the place together,” he added.
Sinclair said that she hopes that future employees will understand why the Cleveland Clinic received such recognition, too.
“This is and should continue to be the employer of choice for healthcare workers in northeast Ohio,” she said. “The professionalism, the medical staff demeanor and the care provided truly is world-class.”
Now that the rankings have been published, leaders of the top hospitals say they plan to continue doing what they did to earn the top honors. For Feinberg and the rest of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, that means providing the highest possible quality of patient care with the greatest level of compassion.
“If we do that…all the rankings will take care of themselves,” he said.
Click here to view the complete list of best hospitals.
© 2009. AMN Healthcare, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
