Duke University Medical Center retained its spot in the top ranks of the U.S. News and World Report's annual Honor Roll of Best Hospitals for 2004. For the fifth straight year, Duke was ranked sixth place overall in a list whittled down from 6,012 hospitals nationwide.
The July 12 cover story of U.S. News praised Duke's excellence in 16 out of a possible 17 cited specialties. In 2003, 13 of Duke's specialties were noted. Duke achieved its highest marks in treatments for heart and heart surgery, geriatrics, cancer and respiratory disorders. In the heart and heart surgery category, Duke surpassed the overall first-ranked Johns Hopkins Hospital.
"It's always an honor to be ranked in the top 10, especially in something like this," said Kevin Sowers, chief operating officer of Duke University Hospital. "The only reason we are able to achieve this is because of the tremendous efforts by our physicians and staff, everyone from the people who clean the beds and serve the food. They all play a role in making this institution as good as it is."
Jeff Molter, director of the Medical Center News Service, was also elated with the distinction earned by the Medical Center.
"If you look at the institutions and hospitals we've ranked alongside, it's pretty impressive--we are all very happy with it," he said. "We are pleased that's where we are. Can we do better? Yes. And we will try to do so, but we are very happy where we are now."
Sowers said he believes DUMC will continue to improve in the coming years. "What we strive for every year is to be better than the year before--we were always looking for ways to improve," he added.
This year the overall top ranking went to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md. Hopkins was followed closely by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass., the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio and the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center.
"The scores' difference between number one and number 10 here are very close together," Molter noted.
Additional specialties in which Duke received top ranks this year were gynecology, urology, orthopedics, digestive disorders, ophthalmology, kidney disease, rheumatology, psychiatry, hormonal disorders, neurology and neurosurgery, pediatrics as well as ear, nose and throat.
U.S. News, now in its 15th year of publishing the annual report, compiles the rankings based on data gathered by the National Opinion Research Center. Each hospital's "U.S. News Score" is derived from a hospital's reputation, mortality rate and other care-related factors like the use of new key technologies.
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