`U.S. News' gives HUP honor roll status yet again

Despite recent financial and administrative changes, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania was recognized as one of America's best hospitals.

In the July 23 issue of U.S. News and World Report, HUP was ranked 14th nationally for its excellence in many speciality categories.

The top 16 hospitals listed in the "Honor Roll" were from a national survey of 6,116 hospitals. HUP was the only hospital in the Delaware Valley to make the "Honor Roll."

"We are very proud to be part of the select group of hospitals," HUP Executive Director Garry Scheib said. "It validates what we've known for years."

While HUP maintained its position as one the nation's finest hospitals, it did fall four notches from last year's 10th place ranking.

However, officials discounted any change in quality.

"The thing we need to be proud of is that we're viewed within that top cohort," University President Judith Rodin said. As president, Rodin oversees the entire health system.

"Some things went down, some things went up," Rodin said. "That's the nature of the rankings business."

John Hopkins Hospital, the Mayo Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital emerged in the top three spots, respectively. All three maintained the same ranking as last year.

Each of the hospitals were ranked based on 17 different specialities by reputation, mortality and other factors such as technology and nursing care.

HUP was noted in 15 of the specialities. Penn was ranked especially highly in the fields of cancer, neurology and ear, nose and throat treatment.

The rankings came as no surprise for the doctors involved.

"We've done very well in the past, so the rankings came as no surprise," Neurology Department chairman Francisco Gonz lez-Scarano said.

However, the hospital still welcomed the outside recognition.

"It feels good," Gonz lez-Scarano said. "It's a validation of how good we as a department are."

HUP was also noted in the areas of hormonal disorders, digestive disorders, geriatrics, gynecology, kidney disease, ophthalmology, orthopedics, psychiatry, pulmonary disease, rehabilitation, rheumatology and urology.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia -- which is not owned by Penn -- also fared well in the rankings. For the fifth consecutive year, it was listed as second in the nation, behind Children's Hospital Boston.

The combined strength and proximity of HUP and CHOP bode well for health care in the Philadelphia region.

"There's no other situation like this anywhere," Scheib said. "We're proud to be part of the overall service to West Philadelphia and the region."

Despite cost-cutting measures to revive the health system from financial troubles, doctors were glad to see that quality had not been affected.

"It's relatively straight forward to cut costs," Gonz lez-Scarano said. "However, it's not easy to cut costs and maintain the same quality of an institution."

"[The rankings are] a tribute to the way it was done and to the people at HUP who believe in the institution," he said.

Scheib also gave credit to the people involved with HUP for bringing it through the turbulent times in the late-1990s during which the health system lost money and was burdened by debt.

"They as a team are the people who have brought us through," he said.

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