December 20, 2012

Year in Review 2012: VUMC recognized in multiple national rankings

Vanderbilt University Medical Center once again placed highly in several of the rankings conducted throughout the year by U.S. News and World Report.

  • In the 2012-13 edition of “America’s Best Hospitals,” VUMC equaled an all-time best with 11 out of a possible 16 specialty programs being ranked among the top 50 in their respective fields, with three specialties now ranking among the top 10 in the nation. The following VUMC specialty programs ranked among the top 50 in their respective fields: Cancer (29); Cardiology and Heart Surgery (25); Diabetes and Endocrinology (33); Ear, Nose and Throat (7); Gastroenterology (24); Gynecology (16); Nephrology (11); Neurology and Neurosurgery (33); Orthopaedics (35); Pulmonology (9); and Urology (6). The Medical Center’s programs in Geriatrics and Rheumatology also received recognition as “High Performing,” a distinction for top regional programs. This year, U.S. News unveiled new “Regional Recognitions” as part of its annual rankings. VUMC was lauded as both the No. 1 hospital in Tennessee and No. 1 in the Metro Nashville area.
  • The School of Medicine advanced to become the sole occupant of the No. 14 spot among Research Schools of Medicine in the 2013 “Best Graduate Schools” ranking. This year’s ranking is the highest achieved so far by VUSM, moving the school up from the No. 15 position it occupied last year.
  • The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt was again named among the nation’s leaders in pediatric health care in the magazine’s annual Best Children’s Hospitals ranking. Again this year, the hospital achieved national rankings for a maximum of 10 out of 10 pediatric specialty programs. Children’s Hospital continues to be a national leader in Urology, which remains in the top 10, ranking 8th. The Division of Neonatology also moved into the top 10, improving from 11th to 8th in the country. A substantial improvement was also seen in Pulmonology, moving from 36th to 21st, and in Diabetes and Endocrinology, which climbed from 25th to 18th. Other specialties ranked this year include: Cancer (36), Cardiology and Heart Surgery (20), Gastroenterology (33), Nephrology (44), Neurology and Neurosurgery (41), and Orthopaedics (30).
  • VUMC was included in the list of 100 Great Hospitals of 2012, published by Becker’s Hospital Review. To develop this list the Becker’s editorial team accepted nominations, conducted research and considered various recognized industry sources, including U.S. News & World Report, Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals, HealthGrades and Magnet Recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
  • For the eighth consecutive year, VUMC was named among the nation’s 100 “most-wired” hospitals and health systems for its innovative efforts in medical technology. The 2012 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study was conducted by Hospitals and Health Networks magazine in cooperation with McKesson Corp., the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and the American Hospital Association (AHA).
  • Vanderbilt University Hospital and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt are among the nation’s 89 Leapfrog Top Hospitals for 2012. The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage that works to encourage health care safety, quality and affordability. Leapfrog members provide health benefits to more than 34 million Americans spread among all 50 states, accounting for $62 billion in annual health care expenditures. Leapfrog’s Top Hospitals list is based on an annual hospital safety and quality survey, which this year took in some 1,200 of the nation’s approximately 5,800 registered hospitals.