MemorialCare Health System Hospitals Rank Among Nation's Best in U.S. News & World Report's Annual Listings of Best Hospitals

ORANGE and LOS ANGELES Counties, Calif., July 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a rigorous assessment of more than 5,000 hospitals in the U.S., MemorialCare Health System's Long Beach Memorial has earned a place among U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals. It 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.

Another 581, including MemorialCare's Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente and Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley were high performers in nine clinical categories. All three MemorialCare hospitals ranked as high performing in Orthopedics.

"Best Hospitals' rankings are intended to help patients with life-threatening or rare conditions identify hospitals that excel in treating the most difficult cases. The data tell the story—a hospital that emerged from our analysis as one of the best has much to be proud of," says U.S. News Health Rankings Editor Avery Comarow. "A Best Hospital demonstrates its expertise in treating the most challenging patients."

MemorialCare's three major adult hospitals have a total of 20 national and high performance rankings for 2014. Long Beach Memorial ranks 37 in the U.S. for Diabetes and Endocrinology and has appeared on many national "Best Hospitals" lists in numerous clinical categories in the 25 years since U.S. News & World Report began its annual rankings. In this year's results, Long Beach Memorial also received "high-performance" rankings in 10 other clinical specialty areas—thus scoring high marks in 11 of the 12 clinical categories for which extensive analyses were conducted. These additional categories include Cancer; Ear, Nose and Throat; Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Surgery; Geriatrics; Gynecology; Nephrology; Neurology and Neurosurgery; Orthopedics; Pulmonary; and Urology. Saddleback Memorial in Laguna Hills is a high-performing hospital in Diabetes and Endocrinology; Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Surgery; Geriatrics; Gynecology; Neurology and Neurosurgery; Orthopedics; Pulmonary; and Urology. Orange Coast Memorial in Fountain Valley is listed as high performing in Orthopedics.

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. High performing hospitals 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.

"These rankings demonstrate that our hospitals—in the nation's largest and most diverse state—never lose sight of the needs of our patients while consistently achieving these high levels of excellence," says Barry Arbuckle, PhD, president and CEO of MemorialCare Health System. "It is a testament to the dedication and teamwork of our 15,000 employees, physicians and hundreds of volunteers who continually strive to advance our mission to delivering advanced, high quality health services for all Californians."

Long Beach Memorial (#16) and Saddleback Memorial (#24) ranked in the top 25 among 425 hospitals in California and Orange Coast ranked #59. In regional rankings for Los Angeles and Orange counties, Long Beach Memorial ranked #7, Saddleback Memorial #12 and Orange Coast #28. 

MemorialCare Health System, a not-for-profit Southern California integrated delivery system and pioneer in evidence-based medicine, has 200 care sites, 11,400 employees, 2,600 affiliated physicians; six hospitals—Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's and Women's Hospital Long Beach, Community Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente; MemorialCare Medical Group; Greater Newport Physicians (GNP); Seaside Health Plan; ambulatory surgery centers; and imaging, outpatient and urgent care facilities. MemorialCare is listed among 35 employers globally receiving the prestigious Gallup Great Workplace Award.

SOURCE MemorialCare Health System