Hospital, doctors score high in ‘U.S. News,’ ‘Top Doctors’ rankings
VUMC makes ‘U.S. News’ “honor roll” again;
Cancer Center leaps to top 10 in list
The Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center was the 10th ranked cancer center in the country, and for the second year in a row, VUMC has been named to the U.S. News and World Report “honor roll” in the magazine’s “America’s Best Hospitals” special issue.
The cancer ranking of 10 is a 16-place leap from last year.
The magazine says the 17 honor roll hospitals demonstrate an “unusual breadth of excellence.” Vanderbilt is the only Tennessee hospital on the list, which includes Johns Hopkins, Duke University Medical Center, the Mayo Clinic, and UCLA Medical Center.
The honor roll is based on rankings in medical specialties; Vanderbilt was ranked in nine specialties out of the 17 that U.S. News tracks.
“I am proud of this ranking, and I am proud of the work it represents,” said Dr. Harry R. Jacobson, vice chancellor for Health Affairs. “This honor is built on the work of our faculty and staff, every day, giving their best for their patients and for their research.
“We are fortunate to be included among the honor roll group, but we must continue our efforts to improve. There is work yet to be done if we want to achieve our goal of being among the top 10 honor roll hospitals.”
"Breaking into the U.S. News top 10 is a remarkable achievement for a cancer center that is only 10 years old," said Orrin H. Ingram, president and CEO of Ingram Industries and chair of Vanderbilt-Ingram's Board of Overseers.
"We realize these rankings change from year to year. However, this recognition combined with other measures of success — like the growth in annual competitive research funding from the National Cancer Institute from less than $8 million to more than $41 million in the past 10 years — reflects the incredible progress that the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center is making in the fight against cancer," Ingram said. “I am very proud of the team that made this all happen.”
In addition 10th place ranking in cancer, VUMC also ranked in kidney disease, 11th; ear-nose-throat (otolaryngology), 12th; hormonal disorders, 18th; urology, 20th; respiratory disorders, 23rd; orthopaedics, 27th; gynecology, 28th; and rheumatology, 43rd.
To earn a place on the honor roll, hospitals must receive high scores in at least six of the 17 specialty areas. The scores reflect a hospital’s reputation based on surveys of physicians, mortality rates, registered nurse-to-bed ratios, specialized services like trauma, cancer and geriatrics, and other care-related factors.
The issue containing the ranking is dated July 28 and is on newsstands Monday.
46 VUMC physicians named ‘America’s Top Doctors’
The just-published third edition of America’s Top Doctors lists 46 VUMC physicians among its rankings, an increase over the 39 cited in the book’s second edition, published last year.
The guide, published by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., uses a peer recommendation methodology to choose the physicians included.
The volume breaks down its selections by specialty and geographical area.
Sixty-seven Tennessee physicians are cited in the book, meaning that about two-thirds of the listed “top doctors” in the entire state are at VUMC.
In the previous edition published in 2002, there were 39 Vanderbilt physicians listed.
“This is yet another indicator of the awesome quality of the physicians we have at Vanderbilt, and, needless to say, I am proud of all of our faculty who made this list,” said Dr. Harry R. Jacobson, vice chancellor for Health Affairs.
VUMC physicians
listed in the 2003
‘America’s Top Doctors’
Dr. Mark Anderson
Dr. R. Daniel Beauchamp
Dr. Frank H. Boehm
Dr. Joseph P. Bruner
Dr. Brian Burkey
Dr. Benjamin F. Byrd III
Dr. Brian W. Christman
Dr. Mark Sam Courey
Dr. John L. Currie
Dr. Roy L. DeHart
Dr. Davis C. Drinkwater
Dr. Kathryn M. Edwards
Dr. Gerald M. Fenichel
Dr. Frank A. Fish
Dr. Steven G. Gabbe
Dr. J. Donald M. Gass
Dr. David M. Glassford Jr.
Dr . Alan Graber
Dr. Neil E. Green
Dr. Kevin F. Hagan
Dr. Kenneth Hande
Dr. Raymond C. Harris
Dr. J. Harold Helderman
Dr. David H. Johnson
Dr. Howard W. Jones III
Dr. Howard S. Kirshner
Dr. Christopher D. Lind
Dr. James E. Loyd
Dr. Thomas L. McCurley
Dr. Douglas F. Milam
Dr. Wallace W. Neblett
Dr. James Netterville
Dr. David L. Page
Dr. C. Leon Partain
Dr. Alvin C. Powers
Dr. David S. Raiford
Dr. Rose Marie Robertson
Dr. Bruce J. Roth
Dr. Mace Rothenberg
Dr. Martin P. Sandler
Dr. John S. Sergent
Dr. Joseph A. Smith
Dr. Dan M. Spengler
Dr. Kurt P. Spindler
Dr. Paul Sternberg Jr.
Dr. Noel B. Tulipan