Good news for the University of Kansas Hospital: For the fifth year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has named it “The Best Hospital in Kansas City” and for the third year in a row “The Best Hospital in Kansas.”
Even better news for the hospital: For the first time, KU was listed in all 12 adult specialties pegged to mortality rates, reputation, safety and other factors.
“I’m not from Kansas, but I’m so proud to be here,” says KU Hospital President and CEO Bob Page. “I’m on cloud nine.”
Page says the rankings are a validation of KU’s clinical expertise.
“We made the list for the first time eight years ago,” he says. “And we had one service: It was our cardiology and heart surgery service. They were the same services that made it the second year and then we have gotten progressively more. Two years ago, we had ten, last year we had nine and this year it’s all 12.”
Now in its 25th year, the U.S. News & World Report list covers more than 5,000 U.S. hospitals. KU ranked highest in neurology and neurosurgery at No. 12 and pulmonology, also at No. 12. Orthopedics made the list for the first time, tied at No. 33, as did gynecology at No. 38.
Hospital ranking lists have sprouted in popularity and are often criticized as too simplistic and favoring large hospitals because the ratings, in part, are based on how many services hospitals provide and how much high-tech equipment they have. And many hospitals pay hefty fees to the list makers for permission to run ads touting their rankings.
That said, the U.S. News list is considered one of the more credible ones because it weighs a variety of criteria.
The other KU departments ranked by the magazine, their rankings and how many years they’ve made the list are:
- Cancer, 29th, fourth consecutive year
- Cardiology, 21st, eighth consecutive year
- Diabetes & Endocrinology, 20th, third year
- Ear, Nose & Throat, 17th, sixth year
- Gastroenterology and GI Surgery, 24th, fourth consecutive year
- Geriatrics, 16th, fourth year
- Nephrology, 33rd, sixth year
- Urology, 36th, third year
