DUARTE, Calif. -- City of Hope has once again been named one of ”America’s Best Hospitals” in two specialties by U.S.News & World Report. City of Hope ranked 22nd on this year’s list of top cancer hospitals and 23rd on the list for urology. This ranking is eight places higher than City of Hope's 2007 ranking in cancer, and the urology ranking is six places higher than the previous year's. The institution is one of only seven centers in California, and the second-highest ranked in the Los Angeles area, to appear on the cancer list; and is one of only six hospitals in California, and one of only three in the Los Angeles area, to be ranked in urology.
“City of Hope’s recognition in U.S.News & World Report for both cancer and urology is a positive reflection of all of our faculty and staff,” said Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president and chief executive officer, City of Hope. “In addition to our focus on providing the highest caliber patient care, we continually strive to rapidly and efficiently develop our scientific discoveries into more effective treatments for those fighting cancer and other serious conditions.”
City of Hope is one of only 41 institutions in the nation to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). To earn this elite designation, a center must undergo a rigorous peer-review process, maintain a significant base of individually funded research projects and be heavily involved in community outreach, as well as meet other academic and public service requirements.
Leading to the high rankings in urology, City of Hope is home to the state’s largest prostate cancer program (according to data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, or OSHPD). City of Hope is a recognized leader in the field of laparoscopic and robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostate surgeries. Since 2003, City of Hope physicians have performed more robotic-assisted prostatectomies than any other center in the Western U.S.
“It has always been important to us to assure that our patients receive the finest of care at City of Hope. We work together as a team to provide this level of care, involving physicians, nurses, scientists, and a myriad of support personnel,” said Alexandra Levine, M.D., chief medical officer, City of Hope. “Our team approach to patient care enables us to apply the most advanced scientific methods to treat the disease, and to provide the important emotional, psychological and spiritual support to our patients and their families.”
U.S. News’ 2008 edition of “America’s Best Hospitals” features 170 medical centers selected from 5,453 hospitals nationwide in 16 specialty areas. U.S. News based its cancer hospital rankings on several criteria that include reputation among board-certified physicians, mortality rate, the number of Medicare patients discharged, the ratio of nurses to patients, NCI and nurse magnet hospital designations, accreditation by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, the use of specific advanced technology, the availability of certain patient services and other factors. Urology rankings were based on similar criteria including reputation, mortality rate, Medicare patient discharges, nursing ratio, nurse magnet hospital designation, presence of an on-site trauma center, the use of advanced technology, the availability of patient services and other factors.
Complete rankings of the top hospitals are available online at www.usnews.com and will appear in the July 21 edition of U.S. News, available on newsstands July 14.