UCLA Medical Center ranks as one of the top three American hospitals - and the best hospital in the western United States for the 19th 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 news comes on the heels of the hospital's June 29 move into its new state-of the-art building, the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

The 19th annual "America's Best Hospitals" guide highlights U.S. News & World Report's July 21 edition. The rankings are also available online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals. The magazine put 5,453 medical centers through an intensive screening process to create the 16 specialty rankings in the 2008 edition of the survey. Just 170 hospitals made it into the rankings, and only 19 entered the honor roll. The honor roll recognizes hospitals that demonstrate excellence across many specialties.

"This is a wonderful tribute to our entire health care team as we celebrate the opening of our beautiful new Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center," said Dr. David Feinberg, chief executive officer and interim associate vice chancellor of the UCLA Hospital System. "We are grateful to our medical staff, who go the extra mile every day to save lives and deliver compassionate care to patients in our community and from around the world."

Hospitals are ranked in 16 specialties, from cancer and heart disease to neurosurgery and urology. In 12 of the 16 specialties, ranked hospitals must meet standards that are driven primarily by hard data. The rankings also include a reputation survey among randomly selected American Medical Association physicians, mortality data and quality-of-care measures, such as the relative availability of nurses, advanced technology and professional credentialing.  UCLA Medical Center was rated one of the top three hospitals in the nation, along with Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, which ranked first, and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., which was second.

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