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Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., Ranked Sixth-Best By Magazine

Posted on: Friday, 8 July 2005, 21:01 CDT

Jul. 8--ST. LOUIS -- Barnes-Jewish Hospital has been named the nation's sixth-best hospital, its best showing ever in an annual survey by U.S. News & World Report.

Only 17 of the nation's 6,007 hospitals were named to the magazine's honor roll, which goes on sale Monday as part of its "America's Best Hospitals" issue.

Besides being the only St. Louis hospital named to the list, Barnes-Jewish also placed among the top 10 in seven specialty areas and among the top 25 in eight others.

The news was a shot in the arm for Dr. Andy Ziskind, who replaced Dr. Ronald G. Evens as Barnes-Jewish president two months ago.

In the 16-year history of the honor roll, the hospital has never placed higher than seventh and, for the past two years, has ranked eighth.

"The incredible reputation of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is one reason why I chose to join the hospital," said Ziskind, who moved to St. Louis from the University of Washington in Seattle. "It is an honor for me to be teamed with these talented and outstanding health-care professionals."

Two other St. Louis hospitals also improved this past year. St. Louis Children's Hospital jumped from 19th to 13th among the nation's elite pediatric hospitals while the geriatrics program at St. Louis University Hospital climbed from ninth to eighth.

It was the 13th straight year that Barnes-Jewish has been named to the honor roll, which is based on reputation, death rate and such criteria as nursing and patient services.

Johns Hopkins in Baltimore topped the list again this year followed by the Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic and the UCLA Medical Center.

All hospitals making the honor roll must have high rankings in at least six of 17 specialties. Barnes-Jewish was ranked fourth in respiratory disorders, fifth in hormonal disorders, sixth in urology, seventh in kidney disease, eighth in ear, nose and throat and neurology, and ninth in heart disease and heart surgery.

In addition, the hospital placed 11th in eyes, geriatrics and orthopedics, 12th in digestive disorders, 15th in psychiatry and rheumatology, 19th in cancer and 21st in gynecology.

St. Louis University Hospital's geriatrics program was the area's first to offer an Acute Care for the Elderly (ACE) unit, which is designed to prevent loss of physical function while patients recover from acute illnesses. Instead of treating the illness and then sending the patient to rehabilitation, the ACE Unit emphasizes "pre-rehab" by starting therapy on the first day.

For St. Louis Children's Hospital, the 13th-place ranking was the hospital's second notable honor this year. In January, it was chosen as one of the nation's 10 best children's hospitals by Child magazine.

Both Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's are affiliated with the Washington University School of Medicine, which the magazine named the nation's third-best medical school last year.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.

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Source: Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Ill.)

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