UCLA Medical Center ranks as the best hospital in the Western United States for the 15th consecutive year according to a U.S. News & World Report survey of 2,550 board-certified physicians from across the country.

The 15th annual guide to "America's best hospitals" highlights the magazine's July 12 edition. The rankings also are available on the Internet at www.usnews.com.

According to a statement from the magazine, the hospitals that make the U.S. News & World Report honor roll are often centers that treat the sickest patients, perform higher volumes of complicated procedures and not only follow, but often propose, advanced treatment guidelines. U.S. News states, "these hospitals conduct research that migrates from labs and computer databases to the bedside. And they take advantage of improvements in imaging, surgical devices and other technologies."

UCLA Medical Center is the only Southern California hospital to earn a spot on the magazine's "honor roll" rankings during the 15 years U.S. News has conducted the survey. The honor roll recognizes hospitals that demonstrate excellence across many specialties.

"Our doctors, nurses and staff help the sick, advance medical knowledge and pursue scientific research so that the people of Los Angeles and beyond have access to the highest quality medical care," said Dr. David Callender, associate vice chancellor of UCLA Hospital Systems and director of UCLA Medical Center. Ã"This is a wonderful tribute to our outstanding medical and nursing staffs, and the entire health care team at UCLA Medical Center."

The National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago collects the rankings for U.S. News. It surveys 150 board-certified physicians in each of 17 medical specialties served, and asks them to list up to five hospitals they believe to be the best in their specialty without considering cost or location. The U.S. News & World Report ranking also includes mortality data, number of procedures performed and other measures to summarize quality of care.

"To once again be in the company of the nation's best hospitals, when the rapid changes in health care constantly challenge our commitment to excellence, makes us extraordinarily proud of the dedication -- day in and day out -- of our physicians, scientists, nurses and our entire staff," said Dr. Gerald S. Levey, vice chancellor of UCLA Medical Sciences and dean of the
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "We congratulate each and every one of them for helping UCLA earn this well-deserved distinction."

UCLA ranked in the top 20 in all of the specialty areas, including a No. 1 ranking in geriatrics for the 13th consecutive year. In the field of psychiatry, the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital ranked No. 5 in the country and best in the Western United States for the 13th consecutive year. UCLA's urology services ranked No. 4 in the country. Additionally, UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and Jules Stein Eye Institute also were judged best in the Western United States, with national rankings of No. 8 and No. 5 respectively.

UCLA specialty areas ranked in the top 20 are: cancer (No. 8); digestive disorders (No. 6); ear, nose and throat (No. 7); eye care (No. 5); geriatrics (No. 1); gynecology (No. 7); heart and heart surgery (No. 12); hormonal disorders (No. 9); kidney disease (No. 10); neurology and neurosurgery (No. 8); orthopedics (No. 7); pediatrics (No. 15); psychiatry (No. 5); rehabilitation (No. 20); respiratory disorders (No. 13); rheumatology (No. 5); and urology (No. 4).

In addition to UCLA, hospitals named to the 2004 honor roll are: Johns Hopkins in Baltimore (No. 1); Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. (No. 2); Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston (No. 3); Cleveland Clinic (No. 4); Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. (No. 6); UC San Francisco Medical Center (No. 6); Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis (No. 8); University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle (No. 9); New York-Presbyterian Hospital (No. 9); University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor (No. 11); Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston (No. 12); Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (No. 13); Stanford Hospital and Clinics in Stanford, Calif. (No. 14).

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 David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital is a separately licensed acute psychiatric hospital providing adults, teens and children with a full continuum of psychiatric care, including inpatient, day hospital and outpatient services. Located in the UCLA Medical Center, UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital is a hospital-within-a-hospital that includes a 120-bed inpatient unit and an outpatient Children's Health Center that together serve more than 34,000 patients each year. In addition to providing well-child care and immunizations, Mattel Children's Hospital maintains the country's leading pediatric organ transplant programs and is renowned for its research into pediatric cancers and epilepsy, as well as the genetics of childhood diseases.

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