U.S. News & World Report Ranks St. Alexius Medical Center And Alexian Brothers Medical Center Among Top 10 Best Hospitals In Chicago Area

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., July 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and Alexian Brothers Medical Center (ABMC) in Elk Grove Village, Ill., among the top 10 Best Hospitals in the Chicago metropolitan area.

"We are honored to have earned this recognition again from U.S. News & World Report," says Mark A. Frey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alexian Brothers Health System. "It reflects the dedication and teamwork of our physicians, nurses, other medical professionals and associates, who are committed to consistently delivering advanced, high-quality care to the patients and communities we serve."

St. Alexius ranks as the fifth best hospital, and ABMC ranks as the seventh best, among 119 Chicago metropolitan-area hospitals reviewed by U.S. News. The two hospitals hold the same positions in the magazine's statewide rankings for Illinois.

The Best Hospitals rankings, now in their 25th year, recognize hospitals that excel in treating the most challenging patients. U.S. News evaluates hospitals in 16 adult specialties, ranking the nation's top 50 hospitals in most of the specialties. The magazine also recognizes high-performing hospitals that provide care at nearly the level of their nationally ranked peers and represent valuable regional sources of quality care.

St. Alexius and ABMC rank among the nation's top 50 hospitals in a total of four adult specialties, including Gastroenterology & GI Surgery (#22), Pulmonology (#48) and Urology (#50) at St. Alexius, and Pulmonology (#31) at ABMC. Just 3 percent of the nearly 5,000 hospitals that were analyzed for Best Hospitals 2014-15 earned national ranking in even one specialty.  

High-performing adult specialties at St. Alexius include Cancer, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Ear, Nose & Throat, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery and Orthopedics. Adult specialties designated as high-performing at ABMC include Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Ear, Nose & Throat, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics and Urology.

"The data tells 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 has demonstrated its expertise in treating the most challenging patients."

U.S. News publishes Best Hospitals to help guide patients who need a high level of care because they face particularly difficult surgery, a challenging condition or extra risk because of age or multiple health problems. Objective measures such as patient survival and safety data, adequacy of nurse staffing levels and other data largely determine the rankings in most specialties.

The specialty rankings and data were produced for U.S. News by RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Using the same data, U.S. News produced the state and metro rankings. The rankings are freely available at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals and will appear in the U.S. News "Best Hospitals 2015" guidebook, available in August.

About Alexian Brothers Health System
The Alexian Brothers Health System (ABHS) is a diversified Catholic healthcare organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. ABHS includes five northwest suburban Chicago hospitals and conveniently located outpatient facilities that serves more than two million people every year. We exist to care for the sick and promote healing, with special attention to poor and vulnerable persons. Each service is in place to improve quality of life – and to accomplish the Alexian Brothers 800-year-old mission of promoting the physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being of all individuals. ABHS is part of St. Louis-based Ascension Health, the nation's largest Catholic and non-profit health system, and the third-largest system in the United States. For more information, visit www.alexianbrothershealth.org.

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SOURCE Alexian Brothers Health System