U.S. News Ranks HMHP Hospitals Top in the Valley

St. Elizabeth Health Center has been recognized as high-performing in the following medical specialties: cardiology & heart surgery, geriatrics, gynecology, nephrology, pulmonology and urology. St. Joseph Health Center is rated high-performing in gynecology.

The latest rankings showcase 720 hospitals out of about 5,000 hospitals nationwide. Each is ranked among the country’s top hospitals in at least one medical specialty and/or ranked among the best hospitals in its metro area.

"We are especially proud of this recognition," said Bob Shroder, president and CEO of Humility of Mary Health Partners. "It independently verifies that our hospitals provide a high level of care, eliminating the need for area residents to travel out of town to receive quality care. I have to give credit to our doctors, nurses, support staff and board members for concentrating on quality outcomes for our patients."

The core mission of Best Hospitals is to help guide patients who need an especially high level of care because of a difficult surgery, a challenging condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age. "These are referral centers where other hospitals send their sickest patients," said Avery Comarow, U.S. News Health Rankings Editor. "Hospitals like these are ones you or those close to you should consider when the stakes are high."

 "These are hospitals we call ‘high performers.’ They are fully capable of giving most patients first-rate care, even if they have serious conditions or need demanding procedures," Comarow said. "Almost every major metro area has at least one of these hospitals."

Hard numbers stand behind the rankings in most specialties—death rates, patient safety, procedure volume, and other objective data. Responses to a national survey, in which physicians were asked to name hospitals they consider best in their specialty for the toughest cases, also were factored in.

The rankings cover 16 medical specialties and all 94 metro areas that have at least 500,000 residents and at least one hospital that performed well enough to be

Best Hospitals rankings, available online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals.

Covering 94 metro areas in the U.S., the regional hospital rankings complement the national rankings by including hospitals with solid performance nearly at the level of nationally ranked institutions. The regional rankings are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital or who may not be willing or able to travel long distances for medical care. The U.S. News metro rankings give many such patients and their families more options of hospitals within their community and in their health insurance network.  St. Elizabeth Health Center and St. Joseph Health Center have been ranked first and second, respectively for the Youngstown-Warren Boardman metropolitan area in U.S. News Media & World Report’s 2011-12