Photo via National Cancer Institute/Unsplash
National rankings of hospitals by U.S. News & World Report were released earlier this week, and VCU Medical Center topped rankings locally and earned national marks in two specialties.
VCU ranked 44th nationally in cardiology and 46th in urology in the survey, which was drawn from assessments of more than 4,500 hospitals. VCU Medical Center was No. 2 in the state rankings for the commonwealth, with University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville topping the list of 18 facilities.
Also in state rankings, Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center in Mechanicsville tied for 14th place with Augusta Health-Fishersville and Reston Hospital Center, and HCA’s Chippenham Hospital and Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital tied for 17th.
In metro Richmond, VCU Medical Center was first, Memorial Regional was second, and Chippenham and St. Mary’s tied for third.
Here’s a breakdown of rankings in specialties and treatments:
VCU earned high-performing marks in gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, nephrology and orthopedics.
VCU was rated high-performing in colon cancer surgery; Memorial Regional, Chippenham and St. Mary's ranked average.
In treating COPD, Chippenham, VCU and Memorial Regional were high-performing and St. Mary's was average.
For hip replacement surgery, St. Mary’s Chippenham and Memorial Regional were marked high-performing, and VCU was average.
Memorial Regional and St. Mary’s ranked high-performing in knee replacement surgery; VCU and Chippenham were marked average. VCU was high-performing in lung cancer surgery; Chippenham and St. Mary’s were marked average.
The four ranked facilities each were high-performing In heart failure treatment and earned a mark of average in abdominal aortic aneurysm repair and heart bypass surgery.
In aortic valve surgery, Memorial Regional was marked below average, and the other three facilities were average. And in transcatheter aortic valve replacement, VCU was average and St. Mary’s and Chippenham were marked as below average.
U.S. News & World Report notes that the assessment is a tool to use in considering the choice of a facility.
VCU Medical Center placed fifth in Virginia in the previous year's rankings. St. Mary’s was tied for sixth last year, and Chippenham was tied for 11th. While the 2020 assessment was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey is accompanied by a package of features on health care workers and others on the front lines of the pandemic.
