MUSC ranked state's No. 1 hospital third year in a row

MUSC Health was named by U.S. News & World Report for the third year in a row as the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina, and one of the country's top 50 hospitals in the treatment of ear, nose and throat disorders, gynecology, urology and cancer.  MUSC was also high-performing in gastroenterology & GI surgery, geriatrics, nephrology, neurology & neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and rheumatology.

Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., MUSC Health CEO and MUSC Vice President of Health Affairs, said the ranking is a reflection of the team’s commitment to putting patients and families first, advancing innovation in the delivery of care and striving to make our communities healthier in ways that go beyond the hospital setting. “There are lots of ranking systems out there, but this particular designation means more than reputation,” Cawley said. “These rankings reflect strong patient outcomes, excellence in teaching the next generation of care providers, new innovations that improve health and strong health care leadership."

Paul Lambert, M.D., director of the MUSC Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, was pleased his division was again recognized as one of the nation’s leading ENT centers. “We continue to aim high for what we want to achieve, and this year’s ranking by US News & World Report as No. 11 in the United States, up from No. 14 last year, is further validation of our excellence in the MUSC tripartite mission of patient care, education and research,” Lambert said. “This recognition would not have happened without the collective effort of our dedicated clinicians and researchers who truly excel in their domains, and our supportive administrative team which facilitates those activities. We are obviously very proud of this special department. But a department does not function in isolation, and we acknowledge the leadership and infrastructure provided by MUSC and our amazing colleagues across the enterprise.”

Designed to help patients with life-threatening or rare conditions identify hospitals that excel in treating the most difficult cases, Best Hospitals 2017-18 includes consumer-friendly data and information on 4,500 medical centers nationwide in 25 specialties, procedures and conditions. In the 16 specialty areas, 152 hospitals were ranked in at least one specialty. In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized hospitals as high performing across multiple areas of care.

Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News, said the rankings are part of a three decade-long effort to make hospital quality more transparent to consumers nationwide. "By providing the most comprehensive data available, we hope to give patients the information they need to find the best care across a range of specialties.”

The U.S. News methodologies include risk-adjusted survival and readmission rates, volume, patient experience, patient safety, quality of nursing care and other indicators.

Best Hospitals was produced by U.S. News with RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C.