UC Davis Medical Center was named among the nation’s top 50 “Best Hospitals“ for the 16th consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report in its annual survey of over 5,000 national hospitals. The results were made public July 10 online.
U.S. News & World Report ranked hospitals and medical centers this year according to 16 specialty rankings including cancer, heart disease and urology. The rankings are based on the magazine’s analysis of a hospital’s number of Medicare patients, advanced technology, patient mortality rates and patient care-related factors such as nurse staffing and patient volume.
This year, UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) ranked 40th in orthopedics.
“It’s not the definitive word for gauging performance, but it is certainly appropriate,” said Charles Casey, senior public information officer of the UC Davis Health System in an e-mail interview. “What makes the UC Davis orthopedic surgery department impressive is that it combines the best in clinical care, research, education and community outreach.“
The department handled more than 6,000 surgical cases in 2007, he said.
The orthopedic department offers clinical care to both adults and children, as well as areas of specialty focus such as spine, trauma and sports medicine. The department helped UC Davis open its new Spine Center and will be adding tumor oncology and enhancing its foot specialty by bringing in a new chief of service Aug. 1.
“The combination of clinical care and research expertise enables the department to be one of the best in the nation,” Casey said. “Our research facilities include an 8,000 square-foot center that houses a materials testing laboratory, cell and molecular biology laboratory, tissue culture facilities, [etc.]”
Because UCDMC is an academic medical center, it not only combines a professional staff with numerous outpatient clinics, but also offers a wide range of training programs for medical specialists, residents and medical students.
Nosherwan Jan, UC Davis junior and neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, is a volunteer at the UCDMC cardiac rehabilitation center. For the last two quarters, he has worked with patients recovering from heart surgery, performing various tasks such as monitoring the patients‘ machines to regulate their exercises and taking the patients‘ blood pressure.
“It’s interesting working here, and the staff and nurses are really nice,” Jan said. “In the future, they are giving us a chance to view open heart surgery, which is really cool.“
The Med Center is the leading referral center in the region for the most seriously injured or ill patients and the most medically complex cases – covering 33 counties, more than 65,000 square miles and 6 million residents, according to the UCDMC website. UC Davis operates inland Northern California‘s only Level 1 trauma center, with comprehensive adult and pediatric emergency departments.
UCDMC has also won the Consumer Choice Award for the ninth time in a row for best overall quality and reputation among all hospitals in the Sacramento region, based on National Research Corporation consumer surveys.
WENDY WANG can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.
