21 Illinois Hospitals Among Nation’s Best: U.S. News Ranking

ILLINOIS — Twenty-one Chicago hospitals are among the best in the country, according to new Best Hospitals rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

The 34th edition of the rankings recognizes the top 484 regional hospitals, as well as the top 22 “honor roll” hospitals. Hospitals that made the ranking achieved excellence across a range of specialties, U.S. News said.

Two Illinois hospitals that made the U.S. News Honor Roll: Northwestern Memorial Hospital was the top Illinois hospital on the honor roll and ranked 16th on the list of 22 honor roll hospitals. Meanwhile, Rush University Medical Center came in at No. 18 on the honor roll.

Other Illinois hospitals that were recognized as top medical facilities but did not earn Honor roll status include:

• University of Chicago Medical Center, Ranked No. 2 in Illinois
• NorthShore University Medical Center, Metro Chicago (4)
• Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn (5)
• Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington (6)
• Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge (7)
• Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, Winfield (8)
• Edward Hospital, Naperville (9)
• Loyola University Medical Center, Chicago (10)
• Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital (10)
• Northwestern Medicine McHenry, Huntley, and Woodstock hospitals (12)
• OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria (13)
• Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital (14)
• Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Downers Grove (14)
• Elmhurst Hospital (14)
• Silver Cross Hospital, New Lenox (14)
• Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana (14)
• Advocate Trinity Hospital, Chicago (19)
• Advocate Sherman Hospital, Elgin (19)
• Advocate South Suburban Hospital, Hazel Crest (19)

In addition to the Illinois hospitals recognized in Tuesday's report, Shirley Ryan Ability Lab was also recognized by U.S. News and World Report for being the top facility in its field. The magazine has declared the Chicago-based rehabilitation center to be the best hospital in its field every year since 1991.

For the ranking, the independent news organization analyzes data for more than 5,000 medical centers nationwide in more than 30 specialties, procedures, and conditions.

U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 hospitals across 15 specialties and 21 procedures and conditions. Hospitals awarded a “best” designation excelled at factors such as clinical outcomes, quality of nursing care, and patient experience.

This year, U.S. News said it placed more emphasis on objective quality measures and less on expert opinion. Other changes include the introduction of outpatient outcomes in key specialty and surgical rankings.

The rankings are meant to help patients and their doctors make healthcare decisions, according to Ben Harder, managing editor at U.S. News.

The top hospitals nationwide by specialty are:

Cancer

• University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York
• Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
• UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles
• Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, Boston

16. University of Chicago Medical Center

18. Northwestern Memorial Hospital

30. Rush University Medical Center

Cardiology, heart, and vascular surgery:

• Cleveland Clinic
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
• Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
• Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
• NYU Langone Hospitals, New York

7. Northwestern Memorial Hospital

15. Rush University Medical Center

30. Advocate Christ Hospital

38. University of Chicago Medical Center

Neurology and neurosurgery

• NYU Langone Hospitals, New York
• UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco
• New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell
• Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles

10. Northwestern Memorial Hospital

14. Rush University Medical Center

42. NorthShore University Medical Center

47. University of Chicago Medical Center

Orthopedics

• Hospital for Special Surgery, New York
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
• Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
• NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, New York
• New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell

8. Rush University Medical Center

19. Northwestern Memorial Hospital

49. Advocate Christ Hospital