Medical University of South Carolina services ranked in annual edition of America’s best hospitals

Medical News Today
July 14, 2008

The Medical University of South Carolina has been named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the country’s best hospitals in the treatment of digestive and respiratory disorders. The rankings will be published in the July 25 issue of the magazine that will appear on newsstands July 16.

“The Medical University is pleased with the recognition provided by U.S. News & World Report for our programs in digestive disorders and respiratory disorders. Our faculty and staff continue to build on a strong tradition of excellence, and with the opening of our new state-of-the-art hospital in a few months, we anticipate taking an even greater leadership role on the national level,” said Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., MUSC President. MUSC was the only hospital in South Carolina to be ranked in any of the service categories.

Since 1990, U.S. News has identified medical centers with unique capabilities in one or more areas. This year, the magazine sifted data from 5,462 hospitals to arrive at 173 stellar medical centers in 16 specialty areas. MUSC’s Digestive Disease Center (DDC) ranks 7th among all other institutions in the Southeast, and 9th among all state-affiliated centers nationally. Mark Delegge, M.D., DDC director, said this was the 11th consecutive year that MUSC’ was named to the list. “Being ranked as one of the best hospitals in the nation is a testimonial to all the hard work and foresight that goes into the DDC,” he said, “People should expect us to continue to grow over the next few years.”

In respiratory disorders, MUSC is 10th among all southeastern institutions and 14th among all state-affiliated institutions. “What enables us to provide excellent patient care and training is an outstanding faculty of national and international reputation in all of the pulmonary subspecialties including pleural disease, sarcoidosis, lung cancer, pulmonary hypertension, interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis, and sleep medicine,” said Steven A. Sahn, M.D., director of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine at MUSC. “In addition, the faculty is involved in high-level clinical and transitional research leading to 70 to 80 publications yearly. We are active in all phases of academic life.”

Initial eligibility is determined based on three entry standards: membership in the Council of Teaching Hospitals, affiliation with a medical school, or availability of at least six of 13 advanced medical services. Each specialty had its own eligibility requirements, along with having had to have seen a specified number of Medicare inpatients who had certain conditions or underwent certain procedures, or be named among the best facilities in the specialty by at least one physician responding to the latest U.S. News surveys. Hospitals that met these requirements received a score that assigns equal weight to reputation, mortality, and a group of other care-related factors such as nursing. Rankings may be viewed at usnews.com.

About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the oldest medical school in the South. MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care; and educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents a year. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $1.3 billion. MUSC operates a 600-bed medical center, which includes a nationally-recognized Children’s Hospital in addition to other internationally recognized programs and services. For more information on academics or clinical services, visit:
musc.edu.
muschealth.com.

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