U., LDS hospitals make 'best' list

Two Salt Lake hospitals have made the July 11 U.S. News and World Report's 2005 list of the best hospitals in the nation.

Both LDS Hospital and University Health Care made the list. Only 177 of the more than 6,000 hospitals in the nation made the rankings in any of the 17 categories.

LDS Hospital was named in the top 50 centers in four categories. It was rated No. 37 nationally for treatment of hormonal disorders including diabetes, 28th for orthopedic surgery, 50th for treatment of heart disease and for heart surgery, and 50th for gynecologic medicine. It's the first time the national magazine has ranked a Utah medical center in four different medical specialties, according to LDS Hospital spokesman Jess Gomez.

University Health Care (until recently University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics) ranked 30 in cancer care and 45th in orthopedics. It's the 12th year the U. has made the list. Ranked hospitals must meet one of three criteria: membership in the Council of Teaching Hospitals, affiliation with a medical school or offering at least nine of 18 specified medical technologies. Fewer than 2,000 hospitals nationwide meet this standard. The ranked hospitals also had to perform a minimum number of procedures in areas of specialty, have favorable nursing ratios and offer a breadth of patient services. They were then rated according to reputation among the nation's board-certified doctors, their mortality statistics and a group of other care-related factors.