"America's 50 Best Hospitals" Listed

Health Ratings Co. Releases Second Annual List of Best Hospitals Based On Medicare Data

(WebMD)  HealthGrades, a health care ratings company, today released its second annual "America's 50 Best Hospitals Report."

The hospitals on the list "have demonstrated superior clinical quality for the most consecutive years" from 2003 to 2008, states the report.

The list is based on Medicare data on mortality, in-hospital complications, and HealthGrades' Distinguished Hospital Award in clinical excellence.

The data specifically focus on 27 procedures and diagnoses, including heart attack, hip fracture, pneumonia, and stroke, but not cancer.

America's 50 Best Hospitals List For 2008

Here is the full list of the 50 best hospitals in the U.S. in alphabetical order, which is how they appear in HealthGrades' 2008 report.

• Akron General Medical Center in Akron, Ohio


• Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, Ill.


• Baptist Hospital East in Louisville, Ky.


• Bay Medical Center in Panama City, Fla.


• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles


• Centura Health-Penrose St. Francis Health Services in Colorado Springs, Colo.


• Christ Hospital in Cincinnati


• CJW Medical Center - Chippenham Campus in Richmond, Va.


• Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland


• Community Hospital in Munster, Ind.


• Deaconess Hospital in Cincinnati


• Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach, Fla.


• Easton Hospital in Easton, Pa.


• Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (including Highland Park Hospital) in Evanston, Ill. and Highland Park, Ill.


• Fairview Hospital in Cleveland


• Genesys Regional Medical Center in Grand Blanc, Mich.


• Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center in Glendale, Calif.


• Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles


• Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J.


• Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pa.


• Henrico Doctors' Hospital (including Henrico Doctors' Hospital-Parham) in Richmond, Va.


• Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights, Ohio


• Holms Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Fla.


• Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.


• Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va.


• Jewish Hospital (including St. Mary and St. Elizabeth Hospital) in Louisville, Ky.


• Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, Pa.


• Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, Fla.


• Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa.


• Main Line Hospitals - Lankenau in Wynnewood, Pa.


• Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix


• Memorial Healthcare System in Chattanooga, Tenn.


• Mercy Hospital Scranton in Scranton, Pa.


• Mission Hospitals (including St. Joseph's Hospital) in Asheville, N.C.


• Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Fla.


• Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Mich.


• Ocala Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Fla.


• Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Palm Beach Garden, Fla.


• Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen, Texas


• Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie, Ill.


• St. Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta


• Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Fla.


• Southwest General Health Center in Middleburg Heights, Ohio


• St. Elizabeth Medical Center - South in Edgewood, Ky.


• St. John's Hospital Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.


• St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield, Mo.


• St. Luke's Hospital (including St. Luke's Hospital - Allentown campus) in Bethlehem, Pa. and Allentown, Pa.


• St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minn.


• Summa Health Systems Hospitals in Akron, Ohio


• William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich.

Veterans Affairs and military hospitals weren't eligible for the list.

[caitlano]

I''m surprised that the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Mn wasn''t in there.

[char1929]

not a single major teaching hospital is on this list thus not legitimate or believable

[poobeedo]

St. Mary''s HOSPITAL in Rochester, MN is the hospital for the Mayo CLINIC.

[erasmus6]

Wow, ONE for every state? And of course that doesn''t mean anything, it just means they aren''t as germ infested as the rest.

[zoombojazz]

Hey char1929,
Please don''t be an ignorant.
Do your research before posting your lousy comments

Take a read at this:


A not-for-profit teaching hospital, Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 with a vision of blending the highest quality patient care with advanced medical research and education. Today, 1,500 physicians manage highly complex cases in more than 120 medical specialties. U.S.News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation%u2019s top five hospitals in its annual %u201CAmerica%u2019s Best Hospitals%u201D survey.

[zoombojazz]

NOT A SINGLE TEACHING HOSPITAL. WHAT AN IGNORANT...

A not-for-profit teaching hospital, Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 with a vision of blending the highest quality patient care with advanced medical research and education. Today, 1,500 physicians manage highly complex cases in more than 120 medical specialties. U.S.News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation%u2019s top five hospitals in its annual %u201CAmerica%u2019s Best Hospitals%u201D survey.

[jeffnewfox]

I have no health insurance never have...
I prefer university hospitals... 2-3 doctors seeing client got to love that and the safe guards for procedures are overseen at every step...

just makes sense for me...
any serious operation i will invest in medical tourism..
goto thailand... and pay cash... they are schooled in the uk or us anyway...
how about them apples... hillary??

[jeffnewfox]

I have no health insurance never have...
I prefer university hospitals... 2-3 doctors seeing client got to love that and the safe guards for procedures are overseen at every step...

just makes sense for me...
any serious operation i will invest in medical tourism..
goto thailand... and pay cash... they are schooled in the uk or us anyway...
how about them apples... hillary??
black market health is already here .. hello wake up america?

[jeffnewfox]

I have no health insurance never have...
I prefer university hospitals... 2-3 doctors seeing client got to love that and the safe guards for procedures are overseen at every step...

just makes sense for me...
any serious operation i will invest in medical tourism..
goto thailand... and pay cash... they are schooled in the uk or us anyway...
how about them apples... hillary??
black market health is already here .. hello wake up america?

[jeffnewfox]

I have no health insurance never have...
I prefer university hospitals... 2-3 doctors seeing client got to love that and the safe guards for procedures are overseen at every step...

just makes sense for me...
any serious operation i will invest in medical tourism..
goto thailand... and pay cash... they are schooled in the uk or us anyway...
how about them apples... hillary??
black market health is already here .. hello wake up america?

[ug_boy]

Not one in every state. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and California get at least several each. Obviously no teaching hospitals and the clustering of hospitals in 4 or 5 states means they didn''t travel much and they can skew statistics. U.S.News & World Report is much better and more accurate, in my opinion - plus they break it down in that report too. Not one hospital in the northeast (and only 2 in all of AZ, NM, CO, WY, ID, and MO) is apparently worth a ***....yeah, right.

[ug_boy]

U.S.News & World Report''s lists are much better. In this list most of the hosptitals are from PA, FL, CA, and OH. Not one from the northeast and only 2 from all of AZ, NM, CO, WY, ID, and MO. I love how you can skew statistics to get on lists...

[kattyclayz]

I just can''t believe this list. I mean, if it''s just based on Medicaid reports, well then what about the one''s who are self pay or through private insurance agencies? So those people slip though the cracks. Awards, well, I got an award for standing still the longest in grade school, does that make me special? Maybe mentally handicapped, but not important. The hospital that my mother works at in Ohio has gotten a 5 star rating for 7 or more years, and have an "open heart crew" that doesn''t mean that I''d trust them to cut open my chest and tinker with my ticker. Sorry, but, I''m going to a specialty hospital for that. Which, of course, the mortality rate IS going to be higher because they do this so much.

I just don''t see how this can feasibly be a correct report. If someone has more info, I''d love to hear it though.. I''m not big on trusting stats without more deeply known facts on how the statistics were received.

[tucano2]

USA''s ranking in world-wide healthcare currently is #40. The best of a bunch of losers still are losers.

[spoofsuzyq]

These lists of best hospitals must be taken with a grain of salt. They can be so misleading. I had bad experiences with 2 hospitals on this list, one in northeast ohio & one in southwest florida, ranging from substandard care leading to complications, to deliberate outright crookedness in the ICU by a doctor, male nurse, & supervisor of a magnitude that you simply would not believe. I had to contact the administrator''s office & they had someone help us finally, & first he asked which patient it was because they have several with complaints in the ICU. I had him arrange a transfer out of there.
It''s terrifying to think that the most sick helpless patients are at the mercy of some of these places, hospitals that are even on lists of best hospitals.
Some patients would be better off getting outpatient treatment or home care, because you may not make it out of a hospital alive otherwise.

[mainemade]

Of course Veteran, or military hospitals aren''t on the list. Look at all the headlines made by the Walter Reed facility last year. Anyone, anywhere can and will have horror stories stemming from a hospital visit.
This list is based on Medicare data surrounding 27 specific diagnosis and surgeries ONLY! Because of that this list doesn''t mean a *** thing except money and time wasted. To be a truthful and justifiable list it needs to be recalculated with ALL data. All procedures, all diagnostics, all patients not just patients on medicare. But of course, that is just my opinion.

[rhs648]

I have no health insurance never have...
I prefer university hospitals... 2-3 doctors seeing client got to love that and the safe guards for procedures are overseen at every step...

just makes sense for me...
any serious operation i will invest in medical tourism..
goto thailand... and pay cash... they are schooled in the uk or us anyway...
how about them apples... hillary??
black market health is already here .. hello wake up america?

Posted by newfox

Great plan if it is not an emergency and you have nothing to lose. When I was rushed to the hospital twelve years ago, insurance paid practically everything. Without insurance, I would still be paying the bills. Bankruptcy was not an option because my estate is too large. Now my home, cars, savings, and investments are still intact. If you don''t have anything to lose, feel free to be irresponsible.

[geegolly405]

I had no idea that Ohio had so many great hospitals. I was just as surprised to see that O.H.S.U. in Portland, Oregon was NOT on the list. In fact...no Oregon hospitals made the list.