UK HealthCare again best Ky. hospital in U.S. News & World Report rankings; Baptist Health has two of top six in the state

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Six Kentucky hospitals have been named among the nation's "Best Regional Hospitals" in the annual ranking by U.S. News & World Report magazine.

They are, in order: the University of Kentucky hospital; hospitals in Covington and Edgewood; Baptist Health Lexington; Baptist Health Louisville; and Louisville's Norton Hospital and UofL Health-Jewish Hospital.

Dropping off the list this year is Saint Joseph Hospital-Lexington.

To make the list, a hospital must:

• Offer a full range of services;
• Rank nationally in one of 11 measured specialties, or have six or more high-performance rankings for procedures and conditions; and
• Have at least three more "high performing" than "below average" rankings for procedures and conditions. 

The report offers an overview of 122 Kentucky hospitals with a breakdown of each of the measured categories, according to the services a hospital provides.

UK HealthCare, for the sixth straight year, is No. 1 with Albert B. Chandler Hospital. It ranked in the top 50 for cancer care for the fifth consecutive year. Its Markey Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in the state, and one of only 71 in the nation. 

“These rankings recognize UK HealthCare as the major health system best equipped to meet the needs of patients across Kentucky, and they recognize the incredible work and dedication of our physicians, nurses and health care providers across our academic health system,” Dr. Mark F. Newman, UK executive vice president for health affairs, said in a news release. “At UK HealthCare, our commitment has been and always will be to provide the most advanced specialty care to the citizens of the commonwealth, without the need to travel far from home.”

UK also ranked as high-performing in gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery; geriatrics; orthopedics; and urology.

The 32nd annual rankings compared more than 4,750 medical centers nationwide in 15 specialties and 17 procedures and conditions. This year's report expanded to cover seven new procedures and conditions. It also added a new health-equity measure. Of the 4,750 hospitals, 175 were nationally ranked in at least one specialty and 531 were ranked among the Best Regional Hospitals in a state or metro area, according to a news release. 

Baptist Health Louisville was the top rated hospital in Louisville. Baptist CEO Gerard Coleman said in a news release, that the rankings "reflect the unrelenting dedication of our physicians, staff and support teams in providing exceptional and compassionate care to our patients. I am proud of the work that we do. We’ve been tested by the pandemic, which has made us more mindful of what’s important and that our mission to serve the needs of our communities has never been more vital."

The report recognizes hospitals that are "high-performing" for 17 common adult procedures and conditions, including abdominal aortic aneurysm repair; aortic valve surgery; back surgery (spinal fusion); chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; colon cancer surgery; congestive heart failure; diabetes; heart attack; heart bypass surgery; hip fracture; hip replacement; kidney failure; knee replacement; lung cancer surgery; pneumonia; stroke; and transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

UK HealthCare ranked high-performing in all those categories except abdominal aortic aneurysm repair,  aortic valve surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, diabetes, back surgery (spinal fusion), knee replacement, hip fracture. It ranked average in each of these categories. 

St. Elizabeth in Edgewood and Covington ranked high performing in all the categories except aortic valve surgery, heart bypass surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, back surgery (spinal fusion), hip fracture. It ranked average in each of these categories.

Baptist Health Lexington ranked high performing in all categories except aortic valve surgery,  transcatheter aortic valve replacement, diabetes, kidney failure, knee replacement, hip replacement, and pneumonia. It ranked average in each of these categories. 

Baptist Health Louisville ranked high performing in all categories except lung cancer surgery, heart failure, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, kidney failure, back surgery (spinal fusion), hip replacement, hip fracture and pneumonia. It ranked average for each of these categories.

Norton Hospital ranked high performing in all categories except colon cancer surgery, lung cancer surgery, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, heart bypass surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, back surgery (spinal fusion), hip fracture and pneumonia. It ranked average for each. 

UofL Health-Jewish Hospital ranked high performing in all categories except colon cancer surgery, lung cancer surgery, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, heart bypass surgery,  transcatheter aortic valve replacement, knee replacement, hip replacement, hip fracture, and pneumonia, ranking average for each of those; and back surgery (spinal fusion), where it ranked below average.

Click here for a list of frequently asked questions about how the magazine ranks the hospitals. 

Nationally, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., claimed the No. 1 spot, followed by Cleveland Clinic and UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.