U.S. News & World Report Names Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas No. 1 Best Hospital in Dallas Metro Area

A total of eleven Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals receive U.S. News recognition, more than any other Texas health care system

Eleven Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals have been recognized for 2015-16 by U.S. News & World Report.

The U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings, now in its 26th year, recognize hospitals that excel in treating the most challenging patients. Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas ranked No. 1 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and No. 3 in Texas.

"Being first in the Dallas metro area affirms the engagement of our caregivers and the talented physicians on our medical staff who work hard to provide safe, quality, compassionate care to every patient," said Doug Lawson, president of Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.

For 2015-16, U.S. News evaluated hospitals in 16 adult specialties and ranked the top 50 in most of the specialties. Less than 3 percent of the nearly 5,000 hospitals that were analyzed for Best Hospitals 2015-16 were nationally ranked in even one specialty.

Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, which has been included in the U.S. News & World Report rankings for more than 20 years, was ranked for 2015-16 in three medical specialties: gastroenterology & GI surgery (No. 26 in the nation), neurology & neurosurgery (No. 43 in the nation), and diabetes & endocrinology (No. 41 in the nation). The hospital is also recognized as "high performing" by U.S. News in cancer, gynecology, nephrology, orthopedics, pulmonology, geriatrics, urology, and ear, nose & throat.

Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation was recognized as "high performing" in rehabilitation by U.S. News in its list of Best Specialty Hospitals.

Four Baylor Scott & White Health Hospitals Rank in Dallas Metro Area

In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized hospitals that perform nearly at the level of their nationally ranked peers in one or more specialties, as well as hospitals that excel in multiple common procedures and conditions. This year, U.S. News & World Report ranked four Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals in North Texas:

- Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas (#1 in Dallas Metro Area, #3 in Texas),
- Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine (#7 in Dallas Metro Area, #17 in Texas),  
- Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Irving (#8 in Dallas Metro Area, #23 in Texas),
- Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano (#11 in Dallas Metro Area, #41 in Texas).

"Dallas-Fort Worth is an extremely competitive health care environment with some of the most recognized health care organizations in the country," said John McWhorter, D.Sc., Chief Operations Officer, Baylor Scott & White Health. "So we are certainly honored and humbled for Baylor University Medical Center to be ranked No. 1 in the metroplex and for three additional Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals to also be ranked. This recognition is a testament to the dedication of our talented, compassionate caregivers."

U.S. News publishes Best Hospitals to help guide patients who need a high level of care because they face particularly difficult surgery, a challenging condition or extra risk because of age or multiple health problems. Objective measures such as patient survival and safety data, adequacy of nurse staffing and other data largely determined the rankings in most specialties.

The specialty rankings and data were produced for U.S. News by RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. U.S. News used the same data, as well as the new Best Hospitals for Common Care ratings, first published in May, to produce the state and metro rankings.

The rankings are freely available at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals and will appear in the U.S. News "Best Hospitals 2016" guidebook, available in August from the U.S. News Store.

"A Best Hospital has demonstrated expertise in treating the most challenging patients," said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News. "A hospital that emerged from our analysis as one of the best has much to be proud of."

Nine Baylor Scott & White Hospital Rated as Best Hospitals for Common Care

This year, nine Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals are rated in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals for Common Care ratings. The ratings evaluate more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide on common inpatient procedures and conditions.

"This recognition is a tribute to the excellent care that the physicians on our medical staff, along with all of our caregivers deliver," said Joel Allison, CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health. "We are honored to be recognized and thankful for the dedication of all of our caregivers to patient care."

U.S. News evaluated hospitals in five procedures and medical conditions – heart bypass surgery, hip replacement, knee replacement, heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – and rated them high performers, average or below average. Only about 10 percent of the hospitals were rated as high performers.

Rated Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals are:

  • Scott & White Memorial Hospital – Temple, high performing in the treatment of COPD
  • Scott & White Hospital – Round Rock, high performing in the treatment of heart failure
  • Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital, high performing in the treatment of heart failure
  • The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano, high performing in the treatment of heart failure and heart bypass surgery
  • Baylor Medical Center at Garland, high performing in the treatment of heart failure
  • Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth, high performing in the treatment of heart failure
  • Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Irving, high performing in the treatment of COPD
  • Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine, high performing in the treatment of heart failure, COPD and high performing in hip replacements
  • Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, high performing in the treatment of heart failure and COPD

Unlike Best Hospitals rankings, U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals for Common Care does not produce numerical rankings but ratings. Best Hospitals for Common Care focuses on individual procedures and conditions like hip replacement and heart failure rather than on specialties like orthopedics and cardiology. The goal is to evaluate how well hospitals perform in each procedure or condition, not just with the most difficult patients but with a wide range.

"The choice of hospital is one of the most important and costly decisions an individual makes," said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis for U.S. News. "We evaluated the treatment of more than 3.6 million patients and identified a small percentage of hospitals that have superior outcomes compared with their peer institutions. Whenever possible, patients, in consultation with their doctors, should seek out high performing hospitals that excel in treating their specific condition."

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Julie Smith
Julie.Smith@BaylorHealth.edu
214-820-7135

Physicians provide clinical services as members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Scott & White Health's subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and do not provide clinical services as employees or agents of those medical centers, Baylor Health Care System, Scott & White Healthcare or Baylor Scott & White Health.

About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient and affordable through its integrated delivery network, which includes the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform – MyBSWHealth. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,200 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White today serves more than three million Texans. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com