A significant change in leadership, challenges in the field of gene therapy and continued financial troubles didn't stop the the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from coming out as the 10th best hospital nationwide in the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings of the country's medical facilities.
The ratings are part of the "Honor Roll" of the best of 6,247 institutions examined in the magazine's 11th annual edition of America's Best Hospitals. HUP finished 10th last year as well.
And also like last year, HUP is the only school recognized from the Delaware Valley.
"The recognition of HUP sd one of the nation's 'Honor Roll" hospitals is a tribute to the dedication and commitment of its faculty and staff in providing quality patient care," Health System Chief Executive Officer and Interim Medical School Dean Peter Traber said in a statement released Friday.
Several noted that the high ranking of HUP was a testament to the quality of care it provided under the severe financial constraints the health system has experienced in the past several years.
"It just highlights the discrepancy between the practice of academic medicine and the delivery of high quality medical care and what society is willing to pay for it," Assistant Neurology Professor and clinical practitioner at HUP John Detre said.
Baltimore's John Hopkins Hospital, the Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minn., and Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital all emerged in the top three spots, respectively. The rankings of the top three were also consistent with the last year's findings.
Each hospital is ranked in 13 specialties on three equal parts -- reputation, mortality and a group of factors such as technology and nursing care.
HUP was also recognized for its performance in each of the 13 medical specialities. The neurology and neurosurgery speciality was the highest ranked department at Penn, coming in seventh in the nation.
The department's ranking came as no surprise to HUP faculty.
Neurology Department Chair Francisco Gonzales said that the ranking wasn't unexpected given the strength of the speciality at Penn.
"This is a great department, always has been," he said. "We were No. 10 last year, so it's not a surprise."
Detre added that a "great environment of colleagues" and "active research" also probably contributed to the high rating of accorded to the neurology and neurosurgery department.
The fields of cancer, digestive disorders, gynecology, hormonal disorders, respiratory disorders, urology and ear, nose and throat medicine also received high regards in the magazine.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia came in second in the country in the U.S. News rankings for the fourth consecutive year, again coming in behind Boston's Children's Hospital.
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