DUARTE, Calif., July 19, 2011 — City of Hope’s national ranking as a cancer hospital increased this year to its highest position ever in U.S.News & World Report’s 2011-12 Best Hospitals report. City of Hope moved up to the 17th position on this year’s list of top cancer hospitals across the country, and also rated as “high-performing” in urology, gynecology, nephrology, and ear, nose and throat specialties within the Los Angeles metropolitan region. The institution is the second-highest ranked cancer hospital in the Los Angeles area and one of only nine centers in California to appear on the cancer list.
“City of Hope has been dedicated to providing the best patient care possible for close to 100 years, and we continually strive to improve the patient experience through the combination of compassionate care, advanced technology and scientific discovery,” said Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president and chief executive officer, City of Hope, and Irell & Manella Cancer Center Director’s Distinguished Chair. “We are pleased to be consistently recognized by U.S. News as one of America’s best hospitals, and the rise in our ranking is a reflection of the excellence of our physicians, research scientists, nurses and employees.”
City of Hope is one of only 140 medical centers to appear on the prestigious annual list. Hospitals are selected from 4,825 eligible hospitals nationwide in 16 specialty areas. This marks the institution’s eighth year on the top cancer hospitals list.
City of Hope is one of only 40 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.
According to data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, City of Hope is the fourth largest provider of cancer care in the state, and the second leading provider in Southern California. The institution has the state’s largest programs in hematology and prostate cancer, the second largest program in sarcomas and the third largest program in breast cancer.
City of Hope has extensive expertise in pioneering cancer treatments. The Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation recently performed its 10,000th bone marrow transplant, a medical milestone achieved by only a few other centers in the world, and celebrated its 35th year of caring for patients with diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. The Division of Urology and Urologic Oncology surpassed 5,000 robotic-assisted prostatectomies, a similar milestone achieved by few centers.
U.S. News based its cancer hospital rankings on several criteria that include reputation among board-certified physicians, patient survival, patient safety, the ratio of nurses to patients, NCI and nurse magnet hospital designations, the use of specific technology, the availability of certain patient services, recognition by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy and other factors. ”High-performing” hospitals were rated in the top 25 percent of hospitals in their respective metro areas based on criteria similar to the national rankings.
Complete rankings of the top hospitals are available online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals and a printed guidebook will be available on newsstands August 30.
