HUP recognized as top hospital in the area

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania announced earlier this week that it has been named one of the finest hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report. HUP has consistency received high ratings from the magazine for the past three years, and is currently rated above any other hospital in the Delaware Valley. U.S. News and World Report evaluates the hospitals based on extensive surveys focusing on the hospital's reputation, its quality of patient care and its ratio of nurses and staff0f members per bed. The surveys are confidential. HUP was recognized for many clinical specialties including AIDS, cancer and psychiatry. "Every single service we provide in our major program has improved in its ranking, making it the number one hospital in the Delaware Valleys," said Donald Snell, the executive director of HUP. "What differentiates us from the other five hospitals in the county is due to the devotion we have to a three part mission -- the quality of our medical education program, the quality of the research conducted by faculty and students and our patient care," he added. "It is a combination of these things that make our hospital stand out and give it the market leadership over the other hospitals in the area. Snell added that HUP is currently rated sixth in the country in National Institute of Health Funding. "We intend to use the magazine's ratings to market the hospital in conjunction with the already successful television advertisements," he said. And the University can only gain from this ranking, he said. "The prestige of the University in general is heightened," Snell said. "Being recognized as a first-rate hospital is due in large part to the support that the University has demonstrated toward the health system. "Often the best hospitals are associated with universities," he added. "The number one hospital in the country is Johns Hopkins University Hospital, which is, of course, associated with Johns Hopkins University."

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