St. Vincent Medical Center Ranks Nationally for Ear, Nose & Throat in U.S. News & World Report's Bes

Online, July 26, 2011 (Newswire.com) - St. Vincent Medical Center's Ear, Nose & Throat service is #32 out of more than 1,400 ENT services in the United States. According to House Clinic Neurotologist Rick Friedman, MD, on staff at St. Vincent Medical Center, the hospital's close collaboration with the House Clinic and House Ear Institute has helped it achieve this distinction. "We do more ear and skull base cases than any place in the country," said Dr. Friedman. "The House Clinic has been the leader in the world for over 60 years at surgery of the ear for disorders of hearing and imbalance, and surgery on tumors at the base of the skull. The expertise feeds on itself."

The latest rankings showcase 720 hospitals out of about 5,000 hospitals nationwide. Each is ranked among the country's top hospitals in at least one medical specialty and/or ranked among the best hospitals in its metro area.

The rankings were based on four categories: Patient Survival, Patient Safety, Institutional Reputation, and Nurse Staffing and Technology. St. Vincent Medical Center also ranked high-performing in: Cancer, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Pulmonology, and Urology.

U.S. News created Best Hospitals more than 20 years ago to identify hospitals exceptionally skilled in handling the most difficult cases, such as brain tumors typically considered inoperable and delicate pancreatic procedures.

The new metro area rankings are relevant to a much wider range of healthcare consumers. They are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital. Patients and their families will have a far better chance of finding a U.S. News-ranked hospital in their health insurance network and might not have to travel to get care at a high-performing hospital.

"St. Vincent Medical Center has the medical and surgical expertise of a university hospital and, at the same time, provides a personalized Catholic hospital setting," said President/CEO Cathy Fickes. "We take seriously our mission to provide compassionate and excellent service, acting always in the interest of patient safety and delivering evidence-based quality care. On behalf of the associates and physicians affiliated with St. Vincent Medical Center, we are proud to be among the five best hospitals in Los Angeles. Our national recognition for Ear, Nose & Throat has everything to do with our world-renowned House Clinic ear surgeons and staff."

The core mission of Best Hospitals is to help guide patients who need an especially high level of care because of a difficult surgery, a challenging condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age. "These are referral centers where other hospitals send their sickest patients," said Avery Comarow, U.S. News Health Rankings Editor. "Hospitals like these are ones you or those close to you should consider when the stakes are high."

Covering 94 metro areas in the U.S., the regional hospital rankings complement the national rankings by including hospitals with solid performance nearly at the level of nationally ranked institutions. The regional rankings are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital or who may not be willing or able to travel long distances for medical care. The U.S. News metro rankings give many such patients and their families more options of hospitals within their community and in their health insurance network.

"These are hospitals we call 'high performers.' They are fully capable of giving most patients first-rate care, even if they have serious conditions or need demanding procedures," Comarow said. "Almost every major metro area has at least one of these hospitals."

####
Ranked #5 in Los Angeles Metro area
Ear, Nose & Throat ranked #32 nationally

About St. Vincent Medical Center
With three consecutive years of awards for quality healthcare services from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), St. Vincent Medical Center has also won recognition by US News & World Report as one of the Best Hospitals for 2010-11 prior to being ranked fifth among Best Hospitals in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area for 2011-2012.
Providing compassionate healthcare and serving the sick poor has been the mission of St. Vincent Medical Center for more than 155 years. Located in downtown Los Angeles, St. Vincent is a world-renowned, 366-bed facility, offering comprehensive medical services, including ear surgery and neurosurgery, general orthopaedics and joint replacement, cancer treatment, cardiovascular services, thoracic surgery, electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, and multi-organ transplantation.
Our outreach programs include referral services for affordable health insurance, low-cost mammography screening, and low-cost or free screening for hepatitis B. Our education programs include participation in the Community Obesity Prevention Program (COPP), the Community Diabetes Education Program (CDEP), and the Casa de Amigos after-school program for children in the community.
St. Vincent Medical Center is a member of Daughters of Charity Health System, a nonprofit Catholic health system with hospitals spanning the California coast.