Florida Hospital is honored to be the only Central Florida hospital named in three of 2004 U.S.News & World Report’s America’s Best Hospitals lists for the following categories:
- Neurology & Neurosurgery
- Kidney Disease
- Hormonal Disorders (Diabetes and Thyroid Conditions)
For six years in a row, Florida Hospital has been ranked as one of U.S.News & World Report’s America’s Best Hospitals. According to the publication, this year “hospitals had to meet a series of progressively tougher standards to be ranked.” In fact, overall fewer hospitals were named to the list in 2004. The publication analyzed 6,012 hospitals to arrive at only 177, or fewer than one in 30, were of high-enough quality to be ranked in even a single specialty this year, compared to 203 last year.
The 15th annual edition of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Hospitals is a resource for consumers who are seeking maximum care in the diagnosis, treatment and management of a difficult medical problem. According to US News & World Report, “These hospitals excel partly because their doctors perform large numbers of tricky and risky procedures. Study upon study has shown the critical role of volume.”
According to the publication, “Ranked hospitals tend to adhere more closely to advanced treatment guidelines, to incorporate new findings into patient care, and to conduct research that gives desperately ill patients more options.”
In 12 of the 17 specialties, a hospital first must meet one of three standards to be considered: membership in the Council of Teaching Hospitals (COTH), be affiliated with a medical school, or have at least nine technology services out of a prescribed list of 17. In each specialty, a hospital must perform a given number of procedures or had to be cited by at least one physician in the past three years of U.S.News & World report surveys. These hospitals received a score that equally weighs reputation, mortality, and a group of care-related factors such as nursing.
The July 12th issue is on newsstands now. For a complete list of the rankings, go to www.usnews.com or call Florida Hospital Media Relations at 407/303-1917.
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