Rancho named one of nation's 'best hospitals'

DOWNEY - Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center has made the list of "America's Best Hospitals" in an annual ranking of the nation's elite medical centers by U.S. News & World Report.Rancho is run by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Rancho once again made the "Top 20" list of rehabilitation hospitals where it has remained for two decades -- the only rehabilitation hospital in California to have that distinction. The U.S. News ranking, now in its 20th year, differs from other rankings by examining how well a hospital handles complex and demanding situations, and involves surveys completed by 10,000 physicians nationwide. A total of 4,861 hospitals were considered for the survey, but only 174 hospitals were ranked in one of 16 specialites, including cancer, heart and heart surgery, kidney disorders, urology, neurology, neurosurgery and more. Scoring criteria included reputation, mortality index, patient safety, and care-related factors such as nurse staffing and available technology. However, in the rehabilitation, ophthalmology, psychiatry and rheumatology rankings, hospitals were ranked on reputation alone. "This ranking illustrates that our world-class clinical care has earned the respect and admiration of our national peers," said Jorge Orozco, CEO of Rancho. "All of Rancho's highly-trained and dedicated health care providers share in this prestigious recognition of our work and mission." Of the 174 hospitals ranked in one or more specialties, 21 qualified for Honor Roll by earning high scores in at least six specialites. More information is available at http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals.

********** Published: July 31, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 15