UCLA Medical Center ranks as the best hospital in the Western United States for the 16th consecutive year, according to a U.S. News & World Report survey that reviewed patient outcomes data, reputation among physicians and other care-related factors.

The 16th annual guide to "America's best hospitals" highlights the magazine's July 18 edition. The rankings also are available on the Internet at http://www.usnews.com/.

UCLA Medical Center is the only Southern California hospital to earn a spot on the magazine's "honor roll" rankings during the 16 years U.S. News has conducted the survey. The honor roll recognizes hospitals that demonstrate excellence across many specialties.

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, "They conduct bench-to-bedside research. And they exploit advances in imaging, surgical devices, and other technologies. It's an elite group."

"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. "As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, this is a wonderful tribute to our outstanding medical and nursing staffs, and the entire health care team at UCLA Medical Center."

Hospitals are ranked in 17 specialties, from cancer and heart disease to pediatrics and urology. In 12 of the 17 specialties, ranked hospitals must meet standards, mostly driven by hard data. The U.S. News & World Report ranking also includes a reputation survey among randomly selected American Medical Association physicians, mortality data, numbers of procedures performed and care-related factors such as nursing and patient services 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. With accomplishments spanning every discipline, UCLA Medical Center on its golden anniversary truly has reason to celebrate."

UCLA ranked in 16 of the 17 specialty areas that were ranked, including a No. 1 ranking in geriatrics for the 14th consecutive year. In the field of psychiatry, the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA 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. 5); ear, nose and throat (No. 9); geriatrics (No. 1); gynecology (No. 7); heart and heart surgery (No. 13); hormonal disorders (No. 11); kidney disease (No. 8); neurology and neurosurgery (No. 9); ophthalmology (No. 5); orthopedics (No. 6); pediatrics (No. 12); psychiatry (No. 5); respiratory disorders (No. 15); rheumatology (No. 7); and urology (No. 4).

In addition to UCLA Medical Center, ranked No. 5 nationally, hospitals named to the 2005 honor roll are: Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore (No. 1); Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. (No. 2); Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston (No. 3); Cleveland Clinic (No. 4); Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis (No. 6); New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia & Cornell (No. 7); Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. (No. 8); University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle (No. 9); UC San Francisco Medical Center (No. 10); University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor (No. 11); Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston (No. 12); University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (No. 13); University of Chicago Hospitals (No. 14); Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (No. 15); and Stanford Hospital and Clinics in Stanford, Calif. (No. 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 David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The Lynda and Stewart Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA 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 http://www.healthcare.ucla.edu/.