Nine specialties at UNC Hospitals ranked among nation's best by U.S. News & World Report

July 7, 2005

Nine specialties at UNC Hospitals ranked among nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Nine medical specialties offered at the University of North Carolina Hospitals rank among the top 50 programs of their kind nationwide, reports the July 18 issue of U.S. News & World Report magazine.

“This year we set out on a path to become the nation's leading public academic medical institution,” said Dr. William L. Roper, dean of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and chief executive officer of the UNC Health Care System. “Obviously, we are off to a strong start.

“I am very pleased with our placement in the U.S. News & World Report rankings -- this is but one benchmark of our excellence in so many important areas of medicine. Delivering quality health care and outstanding service is fundamental to everything we do,” Roper said.
 
According to U.S. News, only 176 hospitals of 6,007 considered “scored high enough this year to rank in even a single specialty.” To be ranked, a hospital had to meet one of three standards:  be a member of the Council of Teaching Hospitals; be affiliated with a medical school; or provide at least nine of 18 specified items of medical technology. Fewer than one-third of all hospitals met this “starting-gate” requirement.

The UNC Hospitals programs, and their top-50 rankings, are:

• Cancer, 37
• Digestive Disorders, 22
• Ear, Nose & Throat, 19
• Geriatrics, 34
• Gynecology, 18
• Kidney Disease, 27
• Urology, 35
• Psychiatry, 20
• Rheumatology, 24

The magazine unveiled the rankings today (Friday, July 8) for its 16th annual "America's Best Hospitals" issue, which will appear on newsstands July 11. UNC Hospitals has been included in the rankings for the last 13 years in a row.
What follows are brief descriptions of each of UNC’s ranked programs.

CANCER (ranked 37):
Cancer care at UNC is coordinated through the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, which was established in 1975 and is headed by Dr. Shelton Earp. It is one of 40 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of only eight Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) in breast cancer in the United States.

DIGESTIVE DISORDERS (ranked 22):
UNC’s Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, headed by Dr. Robert Sandler, provides highly specialized, compassionate care for patients with gastrointestinal, liver and nutritional diseases. The division is a national leader in research initiatives that further our understanding of complex disease processes and lead to innovative therapeutics.

EAR, NOSE AND THROAT (ranked 19):
The Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, headed by Dr. Harold C. Pillsbury III, has a long history of excellence dating back to the opening of N.C. Memorial Hospital in 1952. In recent years the department has become known as a leader in cochlear implant surgery, which enables many deaf people to regain a functional level of hearing.

GERIATRICS (ranked 34):
Special services for older persons are available at UNC Hospitals’ Geriatric Evaluation Clinic. The clinic, headed by Dr. Jan Busby-Whitehead, is part of the Program on Aging in the UNC School of Medicine. It provides comprehensive assessment and assistance to older people and their families who are facing complex medical, social and functional problems.

GYNECOLOGY (ranked 18):
Gynecology services at UNC Hospitals are housed in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, currently headed by interim chair Dr. Robert Cefalo. The department is known as a leader in areas such as advanced laparoscopy and gynecologic surgery, treatment of gynecologic cancers and maternal-fetal medicine.

KIDNEY DISEASE (ranked 27):
Patients with kidney problems receive excellent care through UNC’s Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, headed by Dr. Ronald Falk. Care for kidney patients is provided in seven outpatient clinics,
plus the UNC Hospitals kidney and kidney transplant wards and community-based dialysis units in Burlington, Carrboro, Sanford, Siler City, Yanceyville and Pittsboro.

UROLOGY (ranked 35):
Urology services at UNC are provided by the Division of Urologic Surgery, headed by Dr. Culley Carson. The division’s faculty have expertise in all areas of clinical urology, and combine up-to-date knowledge of cutting-edge therapies with a solid understanding of standard practices.

PSYCHIATRY (ranked 20):
 UNC’s Department of Psychiatry, headed by Dr. Robert N. Golden, integrates state-of-the-art biological, psychological, and social approaches in the care of patients and their families. The department houses the only comprehensive eating disorders program in the Southeast, and is known as a research leader in areas such as depression and schizophrenia.

RHEUMATOLOGY (ranked 24):
Rheumatology care at UNC Hospitals is provided by the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, headed by Dr. Dhavalkumar Patel. The division provides comprehensive clinical care to people with rheumatic, allergic and immunologic diseases; serves as a referral center for patients outside of North Carolina; advances the understanding of rheumatology and immunology through basic and clinical research.

ABOUT UNC HEALTH CARE:
The UNC Health Care System is a not-for-profit integrated health care system owned by the state of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill. It exists to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina and to provide  state-of-the-art patient care. UNC Health Care is comprised of UNC Hospitals, ranked consistently among the best medical centers in the country; the UNC School of Medicine, a nationally eminent research institution; community practices; home health and hospice services in seven central North Carolina counties; and Rex Healthcare and its provider network in Wake County.

Media contact: Stephanie Crayton, (919) 966-2860, scrayton@unch.unc.edu