U.S. News & World Report has recognized four Northwestern Medicine hospitals in its 2019-20 Best Hospitals rankings. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is recognized among the top hospitals in the country ranking No. 10 on the prestigious Best Hospitals Honor Roll which is awarded to 20 U.S. hospitals that deliver the highest quality of care across a range of specialties, procedures and conditions. Northwestern Memorial is the only hospital in Illinois to receive this distinction by U.S. News.
Four Northwestern Medicine hospitals were recognized as Best Hospitals in Illinois and Chicago:
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital is the No. 1 hospital in Illinois and Chicago
- Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital is ranked No. 6 in Chicago Metro and No. 6 in Illinois
- Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital is ranked No. 15 in Chicago Metro and No. 18 in Illinois
- Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital is ranked No. 20 in Chicago Metro and No. 25 in Illinois
“We’re proud to once again have our hospitals recognized among the best in the country,” said Dean M. Harrison, President and Chief Executive Officer, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. “While these rankings are assigned to individual hospitals, this recognition reflects the relentless commitment, dedication and expertise of Northwestern Medicine’s physicians, nurses and staff across our health system who partner to provide our patients with world-class care each and every day while working to advance medicine and find tomorrow’s treatments.”
For the 2019-20 rankings, U.S. News evaluated hospitals across 16 specialties and nine procedures and conditions. Only 165 hospitals, or about three percent of the more than 4,500 hospitals evaluated, were nationally ranked in even one specialty.
Northwestern Memorial is nationally ranked in 12 out of 16 specialties and is high performing in all nine procedures and conditions. Of the 12 nationally ranked specialties, four clinical programs at Northwestern Memorial are ranked among the top 10 hospitals in the country:
- Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 5 for Neurology & Neurosurgery.
“Northwestern Memorial has consistently been recognized as exceptional for neurological care by U.S. News & World Report and we are proud to again be named among the very best neurology programs in the country,” said Dimitri Krainc, MD, PhD, chair of neurology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “Our team of world-class neurologists and innovative scientists are working every day to find better treatment options for a wide range of neurological conditions to help both the patients we are privileged to treat today and future generations of patients who will benefit from this commitment to excellence.”
“We’re thrilled to be recognized as a top neurosurgery program in the nation. Our ranking reflects the international reputation of our physicians and highlights our ability to advance the science and care of neurosurgical patients,” said Maciej Lesniak, MD, chair of neurological surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “As we continue to innovate in the treatment of neurological diseases, our team of physicians and scientists is developing new standards and treatments which are adopted around the world.”
- Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 7 for Cardiology & Heart Surgery.
“The continued recognition by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top cardiac programs in the country is validation of the tremendous teamwork from our physicians, nurses, administrators, staff and scientists and researchers who partner every day to make Northwestern Medicine a destination for exceptional heart care,” said Patrick McCarthy, MD, chief of cardiac surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and executive director of the Northwestern Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. “As Northwestern Medicine has grown to reach further into the Chicago region, so has the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute allowing us to expand our advanced treatment options, innovative technology and breakthrough research to where our patients live and work. We look forward to continuing to grow our program and bring our exceptional cardiac care to more patients and communities.”
“Recognition, like this from U.S. News & World Report, is an opportunity to celebrate the success of our program, express our gratitude to all of our team members and extend our thanks to the patients who allow us the privilege to provide their care. We remain consistently focused on the future and looking for ways to innovate and bring even better care to our patients,” said Clyde Yancy, MD, MSc, associate director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute and Northwestern Memorial’s chief of cardiology. “Our team at the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute is committed not only to providing extraordinary and compassionate care to our patients, but also seeking the treatments of tomorrow through innovative, breakthrough research programs that will transform the practice of cardiology and cardiac surgery for years to come.”
- Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 7 for Geriatrics.
“To care for patients 65 and older is a great privilege and our geriatrics team has worked to transform the way we care for these patients by introducing a ‘Senior Friendly Health System’ which assures our older patients get specialized, age appropriate care in any interaction they have with our hospital,” said Lee A. Lindquist, MD, MPH, MBA, chief of geriatrics at Northwestern Memorial. “We are honored to again be recognized as one of the top hospitals for geriatrics by U.S. News & World Report. Our team of geriatricians, nurses, social workers and staff are committed day to assuring our senior patient get the best care possible so that they can continue to live healthy, active and independent lives. We use this clinical experience to inform our research, which aims to understand the factors that impact our seniors’ plans and health care decision-making as they age; while finding ways to support older adults in aging in place.”
- Northwestern Memorial is ranked No. 10 for Cancer.
“To be recognized as one of the top cancer programs in the country is a wonderful celebration of our physicians, scientists, nurses and staff who work together every day to bring innovative cancer treatments to our patients while working to advance research and defeat this disease for future generations,” said Leonidas Platanias, MD, PhD, director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “As one of the nation’s elite cancer centers, we are always looking toward the future and expanding the exceptional care that we can offer to patients of the Lurie Cancer Center. Our future plans include enhancing our translational capabilities in cancer immunotherapy while expanding our precision medicine capabilities and cutting-edge clinical trials across the rapidly growing Northwestern Medicine network.”
In addition to its top 10 programs, Northwestern Memorial was also nationally ranked in the following 12 specialties: Diabetes & Endocrinology (#37); Ear, Nose & Throat (#31); GI & GI Surgery (#20); Nephrology (#25); Orthopaedics (#26); Pulmonology (#17); Rheumatology (#14); and Urology (#13).
Northwestern Medicine hospitals were also recognized in the following specialties:
- Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital ranked in Orthopaedics (No. 32) and is high performing in Neurology and Neurosurgery, as well as in all nine procedures and conditions.
- Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital is high performing in Orthopaedics.
- Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital is high performing in GI & GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Orthopaedics and Pulmonology.
The Best Hospitals methodologies in most areas of care are based largely or entirely on objective measures such as risk-adjusted survival and readmission rates, volume, patient experience, patient safety and quality of nursing among other care-related indicators.
