Northwestern Memorial Hospital named top hospital in Illinois and among the top 10 in the country by U.S. News & World Report

CHICAGO, July 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Memorial Hospital retained its position as the No. 1 hospital in Illinois and Chicago and is again recognized among the top hospitals in the country ranking No. 10 on the prestigious "America's Best Hospitals" Honor Roll by U.S. News & World Report in its 2021-2022 "America's Best Hospitals" rankings.

In addition to Northwestern Memorial's No. 1 ranking, several Northwestern Medicine hospitals were recognized as Best Hospitals in Chicago Metro and Illinois, including:

• Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital ranked No. 10 in Chicago Metro and No. 10 in Illinois.
• Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital ranked No. 13 in Chicago Metro and No. 15 in Illinois.
• Northwestern Medicine McHenry, Huntley, Woodstock Hospitals ranked No. 14 in Chicago Metro and No. 16 in Illinois.
• Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital ranked No. 17 in Chicago Metro and No. 19 in Illinois.

"As an integrated academic health system driven by our Patients First mission, this recognition would not be possible without the dedication of our physicians, nurses and staff," said Dean M. Harrison, President and Chief Executive Officer, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. "As we look towards the future, we recognize and celebrate Northwestern Medicine's exceptional and tireless health care team who responded with compassion and commitment to providing world-class care to our patients during a global pandemic."

Northwestern Memorial is nationally ranked in 10 out of 16 specialties and is high performing in all 16 procedures and conditions rated by U.S. News. Of the 10 nationally ranked specialties, seven clinical programs at Northwestern Memorial are ranked among the top 15 in the country:

• Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 6 in the country for Cancer. "This recognition as one of the top six cancer programs in the nation is a testament to the extraordinary compassion, dedication and expertise of our physicians, nurses and staff," said Leonidas Platanias, MD, PhD, director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "This honor reflects our deep commitment to translating scientific discovery and innovation into the highest level of care for our patients."
  
• Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 8 in the country for Geriatrics. "The continued recognition as one of the country's top Geriatrics programs is a testament to the outstanding care and psychosocial support our physicians, nurses, social workers and staff provide to Chicago's seniors and their families," said Lee A. Lindquist, MD, MPH, MBA, chief of geriatrics at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "In a year like no other, I'm exceptionally proud of how our team supported one another and worked together to overcome the immense challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, which left our senior patients particularly vulnerable. From providing physician coverage in nursing homes at the height of the pandemic to educating patients, as well as their families, caregivers, and long-term care facility staff on the importance of vaccination, this team went above and beyond to protect Chicago's older adult population from this virus."
  
• Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 9 in the country for Gastroenterology & GI Surgery. "I am extremely proud of our ranking as the 9^th best GI and GI Surgery program in the country by U.S. News & World Report," said John Erik Pandolfino, MD, chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "We have one of the most well-rounded divisions in the country with world experts in every facet of digestive diseases and we continue to innovate to care for the most complicated patients in Chicago."
  
• Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 9 in the country for Neurology & Neurosurgery. "We're proud to be recognized as one of the top neurosurgery programs in the country, especially during a year of unprecedented difficulty and uncertainty. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our department continued to provide outstanding clinical care and collaborative research, solving big problems in new ways," said Maciej Lesniak, MD, chair of neurological surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "This ranking reflects the reputation of our physicians and highlights our ability to advance the science and care of neurological patients – even during a global pandemic. We're grateful to our colleagues and patients for their unwavering trust and support."

"Our program is proud to remain consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally for neurology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we established neuro COVID-19 clinics and have conducted research on the neurological impacts of hospitalized and non-hospitalized COVID-19 long-haulers. Our ongoing work continues to identify the full range of COVID-19 symptoms experienced by patients, and if specific interventions can help mitigate those symptoms and improve recovery," said Dimitri Krainc, MD, PhD, chair of neurology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

• Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 11 in the country for Urology. "We are proud to be ranked the top urology program in Illinois and 11^th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report," said Edward Ted Schaeffer, MD, chief of urology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "This ranking is a reflection of the world-class urologic care we provide to patients throughout Chicago and from across the nation."
  
• Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 12 in the country for Cardiology & Heart Surgery. "To be recognized as an elite program for seven years is a reflection of the incredible teamwork throughout the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute to provide groundbreaking cardiovascular care with superior results. We are proud to have received the highest survival score while treating patients suffering from advanced heart disease, and remain focused on the unique needs of every patient," said Patrick McCarthy, MD, chief of cardiac surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and executive director of the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.

"We look forward to continuing to provide world-class heart care to our patients at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and throughout the Northwestern Medicine health system as we continue to expand access to the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute."

"We are humbled once again to garner top tier recognition in the U.S. News and World Report Rankings, now for nearly a decade. This recognition is compelling; it means our patients are receiving expert care; it means our teams and our systems are functioning at a very high level; it means our contributions to education and science are among the best in the country; and it means our people are worthy, collectively and individually, as class leading professionals who execute their work with character, commitment and compassion," said Clyde Yancy, MD, MSc, associate director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute and Northwestern Memorial's chief of cardiology. "This is our mission – to be consistently better and our version of better has no ceiling."

• Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 14 in the country for Pulmonology & Lung Surgery. "The COVID-19 pandemic pushed our pulmonology and lung surgery teams to think outside the box and provide new treatment options for patients with severe COVID-19 illness," said G.R. Scott Budinger, MD, chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "Our clinicians, nurses and respiratory therapists provided outstanding care to patients with COVID-19 while enhancing our understanding of the disease through internationally recognized, patient-focused research and clinical trials. When performing the first double-lung transplant for a patient with COVID-19, we applied molecular genomic approaches to the lungs of patients ravaged by COVID-19 to identify targets for therapies that might avoid the need for lung transplantation in the future."

"Our relentless quest to provide extraordinary care ultimately led to discoveries that helped us perform the first COVID-19 double-lung transplants in the U.S. and the first-known 'COVID to COVID' double-lung transplant," said Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery and surgical director of the Lung Transplant Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "We're honored to be recognized as one of the top programs in the country as we continue to provide guidance to other centers around the world, paving the way for more COVID-19 patients to survive and thrive."

In addition to its top 15 programs, Northwestern Memorial was also nationally ranked in the following specialties: Diabetes & Endocrinology (No. 27); Ear, Nose & Throat (No. 48); and Orthopaedics (No. 19). Northwestern Memorial was also recognized as high performing in Rheumatology.

Northwestern Medicine hospitals were also recognized for the following:

• Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital is ranked No. 36 for Pulmonology & Lung Surgery and High Performing for Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Geriatrics and Orthopaedics, as well as High Performing in five Procedures and Conditions.
• Northwestern Medicine McHenry, Huntley, Woodstock Hospitals recognized as High Performing in Orthopaedics and High Performing in nine Procedures and Conditions.
• Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital is recognized as High Performing in Orthopaedics and High Performing in six Procedures and Conditions.
• Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital is recognized as High Performing in 15 Procedures and Conditions.  
• Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital is recognized as High Performing in four Procedures and Conditions.
• Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital is recognized as High Performing in three Procedures and Conditions.

To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, visit http://news.nm.org/about-northwestern-medicine.html.

SOURCE Northwestern Medicine