UCLA Medical Center ranks as the best hospital in the western United States for the 12th consecutive year, according to a U.S. News & World Report survey of 2,550 board-certified physicians from across the nation. The 12th annual guide to "America's best hospitals" will be on newsstands July 16. The rankings also are available on the Internet at www.usnews.com.

UCLA Medical Center, ranked as the fifth-best hospital nationally in the latest survey, is the only Southern California hospital to earn a spot on the magazine's "honor roll" rankings during the 12 years U.S. News has conducted the survey. The honor roll recognizes hospitals that demonstrate excellence across many specialties.

"This honor reinforces UCLA's commitment to excellence in patient care and medical advances," said Dr. Gerald S. Levey, provost and dean of the UCLA School of Medicine. "We congratulate our faculty and staff for helping UCLA earn this well-deserved distinction."

A survey by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago of 150 board-certified physicians in each of the 17 medical specialties serves as the base for the U.S. News rankings. Each physician ranks the leading hospitals in his or her specialty.

"Judging the quality of medical care is an increasingly important and complex issue," said Dr. Michael Karpf, director of UCLA Medical Center. "This survey provides one key source of information for consumers since it demonstrates the respect for UCLA Medical Center by a peer group of physicians nationwide. We're honored by this recognition."

UCLA ranked highly in numerous specialty areas, including a number one ranking in geriatrics for the 10th consecutive year. In the field of psychiatry, the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital was ranked best in the western United States and sixth in the country. UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and Jules Stein Eye Institute also were judged best in the western United States, with national rankings of sixth and fifth respectively.

UCLA specialty areas ranked in the top 20 are: cancer (6); digestive disorders (6); ear, nose and throat (7); eye care (5); geriatrics (1); gynecology (4); hormonal disorders (12); kidney disease (7); neurology and neurosurgery (10); orthopedics (9); pediatrics (14); psychiatry (6); respiratory disorders (18); rheumatology (7); and urology (4).

In addition to UCLA, hospitals named to the 2001 honor roll are: Johns Hopkins in Baltimore (1); the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. (2); Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston (3); the Cleveland Clinic (4); Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. (6); Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor (7); UC San Francisco Medical Center (9); Stanford University Hospital (10); Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston (11); University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle (12); New York-Presbyterian Hospital (13); Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (14); University of Chicago Hospitals (15); University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (16).

UCLA Medical Center is a nonprofit, self-supporting 668-bed hospital providing patient care in all medical specialties. It is the primary teaching hospital for the UCLA School of Medicine. The UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital is a 120-bed facility providing adults, teens and children with a full continuum of psychiatric care, including inpatient, day hospital and outpatient services.

For information about clinical programs or help choosing a personal physician, people should call (800) UCLA-MD1 or visit www.healthcare.ucla.edu.

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