Scripps La Jolla Nationally Recognized for Heart Care for the Fourth Time
U.S.News & World Report Ranks Scripps La Jolla as a Leader
LA JOLLA, CA. – Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla was recognized as a top hospital in the nation for both heart and heart surgery by U.S.News & World Report. The magazine’s latest edition is devoted to outstanding health care across the nation and selected Scripps La Jolla as one of “America’s Best Hospitals.”
The standards used to rank “America’s Best Hospitals” are rigorous. Out of 5,453 hospitals evaluated nationwide, only 170 hospitals scored high enough to appear in any of the 16 designated specialty rankings. This is the fourth time that Scripps La Jolla has been recognized by the publication as a national leader in “heart and heart surgery”.
“This outstanding honor bestowed on Scripps La Jolla exemplifies the excellent care provided at our facility,” says Scripps La Jolla Chief Executive Gary Fybel. “We owe these accolades to the incredible dedication and talents of our hospital staff and physicians."
RTI International, Research Triangle Park, N.C., compiled all hospital data and developed the 2008 rankings on behalf of U.S.News & World Report. Hospitals had to meet a series of progressively tougher standards to be ranked. To be considered at all, a hospital had to satisfy at least one of three requirements: membership in the Council of Teaching Hospitals, medical school affiliation, or availability of at least six out of 13 key technology-related services. From there, hospitals were ranked based on three elements: reputation, death rate and such care-related factors as nursing and patient services.
“These ranking are especially significant when you consider Scripps La Jolla doesn’t receive the additional support that comes with being affiliated with a university, or from being a teaching hospital,” according to Fybel.
For the fifth year a hospital’s Magnet status affected its standing. Scripps La Jolla became San Diego’s first Magnet Hospital in 2005 from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, formally recognizing the hospital as meeting high standards of nursing excellence.
The 2008 guide to “America’s Best Hospitals” appears in the July 21 issue of the national news magazine, which hits newsstands Monday, July 14.