Northwestern No. 1 in Illinois and Chicago in U.S. News’ 2014 ‘Best Hospitals’ Ranking

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Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Lake Forest Hospital continue to earn national recognition as part of the U.S. News & World Report ranking of America’s Best Hospitals. Northwestern Memorial is 10th in the nation on the exclusive Best Hospitals 2014-15 Honor Roll—the third consecutive year on the Honor Roll and third year in a row ranking No. 1 in Illinois and Chicago.

“Our hospitals are among the nation’s best for two reasons: our Patients First mission that guides our decision making and our culture of excellence,” said Dean M. Harrison, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare’s president and CEO. “We are grateful to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report and proud of our talented physicians, nurses and staff who have earned this recognition.”

With an estimated 5,000 hospitals nationally, only a handful make the Honor Roll each year. The U.S. News “Best Hospitals” ranking recognizes hospitals that excel in treating the most challenging patients. The ranking evaluates hospitals within 16 adult specialties—Northwestern Memorial is ranked in all but two, and in nine categories ranks 15th or higher. Lake Forest Hospital also continues to be among the best hospitals in Illinois and Chicago, ranking 34th and 29th respectively, and being recognized as high performing in the areas of orthopaedics and gynecology.

For the first time, earlier this year U.S. News evaluated medical training programs in addition to hospitals and medical schools. McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University ranked as one of the most well-regarded postgraduate training programs in the country, one of only 10 programs to receive more than 200 nominations.

In addition, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) has once again been named the No. 1 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation hospital in the country, for the 24th year in a row. The global leader in rehabilitation, RIC has been ranked No. 1 longer than any other specialty hospital in the nation.

Also as announced last month by U.S. News, the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago ranks No. 8 among only 10 children’s hospitals nationwide to qualify for the Honor Roll. Children’s hospitals that made the Honor Roll were awarded this distinction because they scored high in at least three specialties  Lurie Children’s has five specialties in the top 10, including gastroenterology (2), neurology (4), urology (5), cancer (6) and nephrology (9).