Once Again, Department of Medicine Leads Way on 'Best Hospital' National Rankings

Two specialties within the University of Arizona Department of Medicine were singled out today for national rankings by U.S. News & World Reports in its 2016-17 Best Hospitals list, and three more specialties in the department were among five recognized as “high performing.”

Congratulations to the Division of Nephrology, ranked 39th in the country—up from 41st in 2015-16—and the Division of Geriatrics, General Internal Medicine and Palliative Care, which was listed as 46th best in the country for geriatric care.

In addition, cancer care, gastroenterology and GI surgery, and pulmonology were also cited as “high performing.” Kudos to all faculty and staff in the Divisions of Hematology and Oncology, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine.

And care for four of six common adult procedures and conditions whose specialties are in the Department of Medicine were recognized as "high performing," too:

  • Heart Bypass Surgery
  • Heart Failure
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
  • Lung Cancer Surgery

The rankings—announced just after midnight this morning—highlight clinical work done by UA faculty physicians and other clinical staff at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, the primary teaching hospital for the colleges in the UA Health Sciences, which include the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, UA College of Pharmacy and UA College of Nursing.

“For Nephrology,” division chief Prabir Roy-Chaudhury, MD, PhD, said, “this has been a team effort by our faculty, fellows and staff, together with amazing support from our community partners. We would also like to recognize the tremendous support that we have received from the leadership of both Banner Health and the University of Arizona—at the departmental, college and institutional level.”

Last year was the first time the Division of Nephrology made the national rankings in recent years and its improvement is testimony to increased staffing and dedication of the division to improved quality of care delivered to patients, added Dr. Roy-Chaudhury, who is also director of the Arizona Kidney and Vascular Access Center, a staff nephrologist at the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System and national co-chair of the American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney Health Initiative.

“This was a team effort,” he said in an email to staff. “Thank you for all your efforts and for your trust. Let’s make a concerted push to break into the top 25 next year!”

For geriatrics, Mindy Fain, MD, chief of the Division of Geriatrics, General Internal Medicine and Palliative Medicine, co-director of the UA Center on Aging and the Anne and Alden Hart Endowed Chair of Medicine, said, “We are delighted again this year to be ranked among the best hospitals in the nation. This recognition speaks to our outstanding geriatrics faculty and programs, but it’s also a reflection of the remarkable team care provided to our older patients by all Banner – UMC staff, specialty physicians and other health professionals.”

Her division has been instrumental in furthering training in, research on and development of medical thinking nationally that promotes healthy, functional and independent lives for all adults—whatever their stage in life. This includes work on medical protocols for assessing frailty among the elderly, promoting policies to prevent and manage delirium through interdisciplinary training and cooperation, and implementation of high value models of care in the home and community, clinic and the hospital that responds the spectrum of needs for older Americans as they navigate our modern health care system.

UA Department of Medicine Chair Monica Kraft, MD, congratulated all those divisions and centers whose hard work paid off in these rankings and encouraged others to learn from and model themselves after those whose care was recognized by U.S. News & World Report. “Let's keep going up and up,” she added.

With more than 200 physicians, the Department of Medicine is the largest department in the UA College of Medicine – Tucson. In addition to third- and fourth-year medical students doing clerkships and sub-internships, our department trains more than 130 resident physicians and 70 fellows in primary care and all the subspecialties in internal medicine.

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Release Date: 
08/02/2016 - 5:00pm