UC Irvine Medical Center among 'America's Best Hospitals' for 16th consecutive year

Orthopedics and ear, nose and throat programs ranked in top 50 

August 01, 2016
UC Irvine Medical Center sign

For the 16th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has recognized UC Irvine Medical Center as one of “America’s Best Hospitals.” The annual rankings recognize hospitals that excel in treating the most challenging patients and this year includes two UCI Health specialties among the top 50 nationally: 40th for orthopedics and 41st for ear, nose and throat

“Each day, our medical faculty, nurses and staff provide Orange County residents with accessible world-class treatment of serious and complex cases,” said Howard J. Federoff, MD, PhD, Vice Chancellor, Health Affairs, and CEO, UCI Health. “Inclusion among America’s Best Hospitals for 16 consecutive years reflects our continued commitment to improving quality care and to the UCI Health mission: Discover. Teach. Heal.”

UC Irvine Medical Center is the only Orange County hospital consistently rated among America’s best by U.S. News. It is ranked No. 10 in California and No. 5 in the Los Angeles metropolitan region.  In addition to its 2016-17 nationally ranked specialties, U.S. News rates UCI Health programs in cancer, gastroenterology & GI surgery, geriatrics, gynecology, nephrology, neurology & neurosurgery, pulmonology and urology as high performing.

“Barely 150 hospitals — about 3 percent of the nearly 5,000 we evaluated — were nationally ranked in even one specialty,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News. “Even fewer excelled across numerous areas of care.”

Since 2001, the magazine has listed UCI Health programs in urology, gynecology, geriatrics, cancer, digestive disorders, nephrology, orthopedics and ear, nose & throat among the top 50 nationwide.

In addition to its longstanding inclusion among America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News, UCI Health has received recognition for its continued record of quality care:

  • April 2016 – UCI Health earns a third consecutive “A” rating in The Leapfrog Group’s spring Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries and infections.
  • December 2015 – UCI Health is one of less than 100 hospitals to earn The Leapfrog Group’s “Top Hospital” recognition.
  • November 2015 – UCI Health recognized for the second time as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission.
  • November 2015 – UC Irvine Medical Center ranked 22nd among the nation’s leading academic medical centers in the University HealthSystem Consortium 2015 Quality and Accountability Scorecard.

The UCI Health medical faculty also includes more than 100 “Best Doctors in America,” more than any other hospital serving Orange County.

The U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings, now in their 27th year, help guide patients to hospitals that deliver outstanding care across 25 specialties, procedures and conditions. The Best Hospitals methodologies include objective measures such as patient survival, the number of times a given procedure is performed, infection rates, adequacy of nurse staffing and more.

For 2016-17, 153 hospitals were ranked in at least one specialty, while 1,628 received a high performing rating in one or more specialties, procedures or conditions. In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized hospitals that were high-performing across multiple areas of care.

Best Hospitals was produced by U.S. News with RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

The rankings will be published in the U.S. News “Best Hospitals 2017” guidebook, available for pre-sale Aug. 1. For more information, visit Best Hospitals.

UCI Health comprises the clinical, medical education and research enterprises of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at physician offices throughout Orange County and at its main campus, UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, Calif., a 411-bed acute care hospital that provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, behavioral health and rehabilitation. U.S. News & World Report has listed it among America’s Best Hospitals for 16 consecutive years. UC Irvine Medical Center features Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program, Level I trauma center and Level II pediatric trauma center, and is the primary teaching hospital for UC Irvine School of Medicine. UCI Health serves a region of more than 3 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.