Long Beach Medical Center, Saddleback Medical Center and Orange Coast Medical Center Have Total of 20 National and High Performance Rankings in U.S. News & World Report's Annual Listings of Best Hospitals
ORANGE/LOS ANGELES COUNTIES, CA: In a rigorous assessment of more than 5,000 hospitals in the U.S., MemorialCare’s Long Beach Medical Center 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 Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente and Orange Coast 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 Medical Center 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 Medical Center 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 Medical Center 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 Medical Center 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. “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 Medical Center (#16) and Saddleback Medical Center (#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 Medical Center ranked #7, Saddleback Medical Center #12 and Orange Coast #28.