B E ST HOS P I TAL S
A H E M I S P H E R E S P R O M O T I O N
We’re entering an uncertain time
for the
U.S. health industry. Still recovering from
the global economic crisis, hospitals find
themselves scrambling to adjust to
widespread legislative reform and the
associated new value-based models of
care, while trying to differentiate
themselves in an increasingly open and
competitive market.
Yet, through all this, some institutions
continue to stand out, and none more so
than the Johns Hopkins Hospital in
Baltimore, which placed first in the
prestigious
U.S. News & World Report
rankings for 2013, reclaiming the position
it held from 1991 to 2011. Ronald Peterson,
president of the Johns Hopkins Hospital
and Health System, a ributes this
consistency to “a very special symbiotic
relationship with the school of medicine, a
great depth of physician capability in
many specialties, and the dedication and
capability of every member of staff,
including nurses and care-givers.”
Joining Johns Hopkins on the
U.S. News
honor roll was Chicago’s Northwestern
Memorial Hospital, which placed sixth,
while its Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute
received particular commendation for
providing the region’s highest-ranked
cardiac program. “What many presume is
that these rankings are popularity contests;
they are not. We have a keen focus on
quality of care, patient-centric outcomes,
patient safety and excellence in all of our
procedures and best medical practices,”
says Kris Lathan. “Clearly reputation is a
component but reputations are deserved;
they are derived from being tireless
practitioners, novel scientists, effective
teachers and adroit communicators.”
Ranked nationally in 12 specialties,
Houston Methodist was named by the
report as the number one hospital in
Texas. The institution has a long history of
innovation and bold strategies: in 1951 it
moved from downtown to become one of
the founding hospitals of the Texas
Medical Center, the largest healthcare
complex in the world. “Houston Methodist
has a strong tradition of being this region’s
premier hospital system, and we’ve
maintained that tradition by embracing
new and be er ways of doing things,” says
president and CEO Dr. Marc Boom.
This willingness to adapt is a
characteristic shared by all three hospitals,
as well as a variety of other thriving
institutions across the country. Where
they differ, however, is the manner in
which they do so, with every hospital
plo ing its own unique path through
these changing times.
“THE BIGGEST
CHALLENGE FOR THE
U.S. HEALTH
INDUSTRY TODAY IS
RESPONDING TO
WHAT’S HAPPENING
IN WASHINGTON”
BIG
BUCKS
THE TOTAL
ANNUAL
REVENUE OF THE
U.S. HEALTHCARE
INDUSTRY IS
$1.668
TRILLION,
ACCORDING TO
THE U.S CENSUS
BUREAU,
64%
OF WHICH
COMES FROM
PATIENT CARE
