University Hospital named high performer by U.S. News & World Report
USA Health University Hospital was named a high performing hospital for the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) in the latest Best Hospitals 2020-21 rankings and ratings from U.S. News & World Report.
USA Health University Hospital was named a high performing hospital for the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) in the latest Best Hospitals 2020-21 rankings and ratings from U.S. News & World Report released on July 28, 2020.
Hospitals that earned a high performing rating were significantly better than the national average. When considering the treatment for COPD, more than 6,000 hospitals were evaluated, with only 1,075 found to be high performing, according to the magazine’s editorial staff. The other two rankings were average or below average.
“We are extremely proud of the high-quality patient care we provide at USA Health University Hospital, the region’s only academic medical center,” said Sam Dean, University Hospital administrator. “This national ranking reflects the commitment of our providers and staff to provide the best care possible to the people in our community who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.”
To qualify as a high performer, hospitals had to show they treated a given number of patients who had specifically defined conditions or procedures. The threshold number, which varied by specialty, was based on hospitalized Medicare patients who were discharged during the three years from 2016 to 2018 (2018 is the most recent year of available data).
Because the rankings focus on challenging care, only patients who had particular procedures or conditions at a defined level of severity and complexity were included. A hospital's COPD score is based on multiple data categories, including patient survival, discharging patients to home, nurse staffing and more.
“Caring for COPD patients is complex,” said Karen A. Fagan, M.D., a pulmonologist and professor of internal medicine at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. “At USA Health University Hospital we have all of the necessary expertise to care for these complex patients to restore their health, improve quality of life, and keep them home instead of needing to come back to the hospital.”
Fagan, who also serves as the director of the division of pulmonary & critical care, said it takes a team to best treat patients with COPD. “That team includes our physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists who focus on providing the most state of the art compassionate care, patient education, and long-term follow up,” she said. “We are honored that our efforts to provide the best quality care for COPD have been recognized by the prestigious U.S. News & World Report healthcare rankings.”
To help patients decide where to receive care, U.S. News & World Report generates hospital rankings by evaluating data on nearly 5,000 hospitals in 16 adult medical specialties, 10 adult procedures or conditions and 10 pediatric specialties.
To be nationally ranked in a specialty, a hospital must excel in caring for the sickest, most medically complex patients. In most specialties, the top 50 hospitals are nationally ranked, and additional hospitals may be recognized as high performing.
