Long Beach Memorial Achieves Best Hospital Rankings by U.S. News and World Report: Less Than 3% of Nation's Hospitals Nationally Ranked

LONG BEACH, Calif., July 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the 20^th time since U.S. News and World Report started publishing a rigorous assessment of more than 5,000 U.S. hospitals, Long Beach Memorial has earned a place among "Best Hospitals." Long Beach Memorial is listed as one of the nation's best in the Diabetes and Endocrinology Category and "high performing" in 10 additional clinical categories. Fewer than 3%—just 144 of the nation's hospitals—performed well enough to be nationally ranked.

The Best Hospitals rankings are intended to help patients with life-threatening or rare conditions identify hospitals that excel in treating the most difficult cases. U.S. News has compared the rankings to a GPS-type aid to help steer patients to hospitals with strong skills in the procedures and medical conditions that present the biggest challenges and where other hospitals send the toughest cases.

"We are honored to be part of this prestigious America's Best Hospitals list, and that year after year our different specialties consistently achieve these high standards of excellence," says Diana Hendel, PharmD, CEO of Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach and Community Hospital Long Beach which is part of MemorialCare Health System in Los Angeles and Orange counties. "Since we opened in 1907, our mission has remained unchanged: to ensure the communities we serve have access to the best, most compassionate care possible while exceeding our patient expectations. This wonderful accomplishment is another testament to our remarkable 6,000 employees, 2,500 physicians and hundreds of volunteers who provide exceptional care at our hospitals, outpatient facilities and in schools, businesses and patient homes."

Long Beach Memorial's ranked 37 in the U.S. for Diabetes and Endocrinology and has appeared on many national "America's Best Hospitals" lists in numerous clinical categories. In this year's U.S. News & World Report results, Long Beach Memorial also received strong rankings for its "high-performance" in 10 other clinical specialty areas—thus scoring high marks in 11 of the 12 clinical categories for which an extensive analysis is conducted. These additional categories include Cancer; Ear, Nose and Throat; Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Surgery; Geriatrics; Gynecology; Nephrology; Neurology and Neurosurgery; Orthopedics; Pulmonary; and Urology.

These accomplishments resulted in Long Beach Memorial being just one of only two community-based, comprehensive teaching hospitals receiving rankings among the top seven top hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Each clinical specialty is measured on a number of factors, including patient survival rates, advanced technologies, patient volume, patient safety, reputation for developing and sustaining high quality care, nurse staffing and patient services. Long Beach Memorial consistently received marks of "high," "highest" and "better than expected" in these areas.

U.S. News has compared the rankings to a GPS-type aid to help steer patients to hospitals with strong skills in the procedures and medical conditions that present the biggest challenges and where other hospitals send the toughest cases.

Long Beach Memorial is the region's first choice for comprehensive care in virtually every medical and surgical specialty. Centers of excellence include Todd Cancer Institute, MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, MemorialCare Rehabilitation Institute, MemorialCare Orthopedic Institute, MemorialCare Neuroscience Institute, Stroke Program, MemorialCare Joint Replacement Center and the Emergency and Regional Trauma Center. It was recently awarded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services highest Gold Medal honors for saving lives through organ donations and the Gallup Great Workplace Award honoring 35 businesses worldwide. Along with Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach, Long Beach Memorial is the West's second largest hospital campus.

SOURCE Long Beach Memorial