DMC Hospitals Earn High Honors and Rank in 20 Specialties in Latest U.S. News Media & World Report's Best Hospitals Rankings

DMC Harper University Hospital stands out with national recognition for 7th consecutive year

DETROIT, July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Detroit Medical Center is again taking high honors for nationally and regionally ranked hospitals in the U.S. News Media & World Report's 2011-12 Best Hospitals rankings. 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 U.S. News hospital ratings, widely regarded as a standard of excellence in patient care, listed national and regional rankings in multiple specialties for four DMC hospitals, including six national rankings for DMC Harper University Hospital.

In May of this year, DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan garnered national U.S. News rankings in nine pediatric specialties.

Harper stood out this year with six national rankings which included two new specialties – #47 in Diabetes & Endocrinology and #43 in Geriatrics. Harper's other national rankings are #36 Cardiology & Heart Surgery, (up from #44 in 2010); #38 in Gynecology (up from #43); #26 in Neurology & Neurosurgery (up from #30) and #34 in Pulmonology (up from #40).

"We are proud to be recognized again by the U.S. News Media and World Report. Their rankings are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our physicians and clinical staff and exemplifies the depth of quality and specialty care delivered every day at Harper University and Hutzel Women's Hospital," states Thomas Malone, M.D., President, DMC Harper University Hospital.

"DMC prides itself with having one of the world's most experienced programs in high-risk catheter intervention with circulatory support for patients with advanced coronary or valvular heart disease," says Theodore Schreiber, M.D., Specialist-In-Chief, Cardiovascular Medicine, Detroit Medical Center; President, DMC Cardiovascular Institute; and creator of DMC Cardio Team One™.

DMC Cardio Team One™ is a program for the emergency treatment of heart attack patients. Compared to the rest of U.S. hospitals, DMC's on-site (24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year) interventional team has achieved unprecedented and unmatched rapid and safe results for heart attack victims, with restoration of blood flow routinely within an average of 45 minutes after hospital arrival. The national goal of 90 minutes or less is currently only achieved by less than a third of programs nationwide.

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.

In addition to Harper's national rankings, the hospital also ranks #2 overall in the Detroit Metro area and is high-performing in five additional specialties:  Ear, Nose & Throat; Gastroenterology; Nephrology; Orthopedics and Urology.

The remaining Detroit Metro Area best overall rankings were #5 DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital. Sinai-Grace is listed with 10 high-performing specialties: Cardiology & Heart Surgery; Diabetes & Endocrinology; Ear, Nose & Throat; Gastroenterology; Geriatrics; Gynecology; Nephrology; Neurology & Neurosurgery; Orthopedics and Pulmonology.

DMC Huron-Valley-Sinai Hospital ranked #14. Gastroenterology, Geriatrics, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology and Urology are the high-performing specialties.

Ranked #17 is DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital. U.S. News lists Detroit Receiving as high-performing in Diabetes & Endocrinology, Nephrology, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Pulmonology and Urology.

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."

The rankings cover 16 medical specialties and all 94 metro areas that have at least 500,000 residents and at least one hospital that performed well enough to be ranked.

The rankings, annually published by U.S. News for the past 22 years, will also be featured in the U.S. News Best Hospitals guidebook, which will go on sale August 30. The rankings are also available online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals.

For downloadable hospital photos and to view all DMC hospitals and their rankings, visit http://www.dmc.org/besthospitals.

About Detroit Medical Center (DMC) www.dmc.org

The Detroit Medical Center operates eight hospitals and one institute, including DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan, DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital, DMC Harper University Hospital, DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, DMC Hutzel Women's Hospital, DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital, DMC Surgery Hospital, and DMC Cardiovascular Institute.

The Detroit Medical Center is a leading regional healthcare system with a mission of excellence in clinical care, research and medical education.

The Detroit Medical Center is proud to be the Official Healthcare Services Provider of the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons.

SOURCE Detroit Medical Center