US News & World Report Ranks South Nassau Highly in its 2014 Best Hospitals Metro Area Rankings

In the recently released U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals Rankings, South Nassau Communities Hospital is ranked 19th among all hospitals in the New York metropolitan area as well as 18th in the state of New York. In addition to New York City, the New York metropolitan area includes hospitals based in Long Island, Westchester County, and northern New Jersey.

To be ranked in the Best Hospitals metro area rankings, South Nassau had to score in the top 25 percent among its peers in at least one of 16 medical specialties. South Nassau was rated as “high performing” in eight of the specialties: Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics and Pulmonology.

“The ranking is a direct result of our commitment to our mission to provide the communities and patients we serve with quality, compassionate healthcare that they deserve whenever and wherever they need it,” said Richard J. Murphy, South Nassau’s president and CEO. “The residents and communities we serve can count on us to have a staff of experienced, compassionate, dedicated doctors and nurses; treat our patients with leading-edge medical technologies; and adhere to the highest standards in patient safety and care.”

The metro area rankings are relevant to a much wider range of healthcare consumers. They are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital. Patients and their families have a far better chance of finding a U.S. News-ranked hospital in their health insurance network and might not have to travel to get care at one of the nationally-ranked hospitals.

The high ranking from US News & World Report is one of a multitude of honors earned by South Nassau in the past year, including: Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet® recognition; Joint Commission Top Performer on Key Quality Measures; Joint Commission Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers; Joint Commission Disease-specific Certification in End-stage Renal Disease; and HomeCare Elite™, listing South Nassau’s Home Care as one of the top home health care providers in the United States (for the eighth consecutive year).

This year, U.S. News assessed 4,806 hospitals in 16 medical specialties. Exactly 725 hospitals are showcased by the magazine and just 144 are nationally ranked in at least one medical specialty. Now in its 25th year, the U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings help guide patients who need a high level of care because they face particularly difficult surgery, a challenging condition or added risk because of other health problems or age. This list is highly regarded by health care professionals and academic researchers and frequently cited in scholarly investigations.

U.S. News made several changes to the Best Hospitals rankings methodology this year, including adding new data and greater emphasis on patient safety. Patient safety metrics now account for 10 percent of each hospital’s overall score, in most specialties – twice as much as in past years. This year, more emphasis was placed on patient safety, said Avery Comarow, U.S. News health rankings editor.