MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston was named by U.S. News & World Report for the sixth year in a row as the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina, with three of the MUSC Health, Charleston Division, specialty areas ranking among the best in the entire country: ear, nose and throat; gynecology; and cancer.
Six other MUSC Health programs based in Charleston are considered “high performing” in the 2020-2021 U.S. News & World Report rankings: gastroenterology and GI surgery; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; rheumatology and urology. In addition, MUSC Health Florence Medical Center is designated “high performing” in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure, and MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center is designated “high performing” in COPD and heart failure.
“These six consecutive years of recognition demonstrate that our teams remain committed to keeping the needs of patients as the focal points of what we deliver every day,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., MUSC Health CEO and vice president for Health Affairs, University. “With all the pressures bearing on the health care industry right now, especially during this pandemic, yet again earning this level of recognition as the leading health care organization in the Charleston area, the Lowcountry and the state engenders a tremendous sense of accomplishment and pride in our teams’ abilities to change what’s possible for those we serve.”
The Best Hospitals 2020-2021 report is designed to help patients with life-threatening or rare conditions identify hospitals that excel in treating the most difficult cases. The annual report includes consumer-friendly data and information on 4,500 medical centers nationwide in 16 specialties, 10 procedures and conditions. In the 16 specialty areas, 134 hospitals were ranked in at least one specialty. In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News & World Report recognizes hospitals as high performing across multiple areas of care.
“It is particularly gratifying to see two of the newest hospitals within the MUSC Health system, in our Florence and Lancaster Divisions, recognized in this year’s report,” Cawley said. “Our teams statewide are engaged in delivering health care that is built on quality, safety and innovation at every level.” The Florence and Lancaster hospitals joined the MUSC Health system in March 2019 when MUSC Health acquired four community hospitals.
The U.S. News & World Report 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.
“For more than 30 years, U.S. News & World Report has been helping patients, along with the help of their physicians, identify the Best Hospitals in an array of specialties, procedures and conditions,” said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News. “The hospitals that rise to the top of our rankings and ratings have deep medical expertise, and each has built a track record of delivering good outcomes for patients.”
U.S. News & World Report produces its Best Hospitals rankings with RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
