Hospitals in Southern California accounted for more than half of the best 25 hospitals in the state in new quality rankings from U.S. News & World Report, with Newport Beach’s Hoag hospital and UCI Medical Center in Orange making the Top 10.
More than 4,600 medical facilities around the United States were evaluated to create the annual national “best” list, which also broke out rankings by state and looked at quality of specialty care areas such as cancer, neurosurgery and geriatrics, and procedures including heart surgery and knee replacement.
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian came in at No. 8 among California hospitals and was the highest-ranked in Orange County, followed by UCI Medical Center, which tied with Huntington Memorial in Pasadena for the No.10 spot.
Some of the facilities that consistently rank atop national lists score well based on their reputations, but Hoag has been recognized several years running for its safety and clinical outcomes, Hoag Chief Operating Officer Michael Ricks said.
“You want to go to a hospital that has a great reputation, but you really want to go to a hospital that’s going to take great care of you,” he said.
This list is the first time Hoag has landed in the Top 50 U.S. hospitals for its neurology and neurosurgery (it’s at No. 37), which Ricks said is thanks to recent investments in improving care for strokes and related conditions. The hospital also is now performing Phase 1 clinical trials of cancer treatments, some of which are the first tests in humans, an area Ricks said hospital officials plan to expand.
In the new rankings, Hoag and UCI each got three out of five stars on patient experience, and both were recognized for high nurse staffing levels. Specific care areas recognized on the list included Hoag’s fertility clinic and pediatric intensive care at UCI. Both hospitals have made the U.S. News & World Report list before.
In cancer care, Duarte-based City of Hope – which is investing $1 billion to build and run a new Irvine cancer center set to open in 2021 – was named 11th best cancer hospital in the U.S.
Other noted Orange County facilities include No. 13-ranked Mission Hospitals (Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach), and MemorialCare Saddleback Memorial (Laguna Hills) and St. Jude (Fullerton) medical centers, which landed in a three-way tie for the No. 22 spot with Loma Linda University Medical Center.
UCLA Medical Center was the top-ranked California hospital and No. 6 nationwide. The best-performing medical facilities in the country included renowned hospitals such as the No. 1-ranked Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital at No. 3.
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