Local hospitals ranked among best in Ohio by U.S. News & World Report

DAYTON — Two area hospitals were ranked in the top 10 of best hospitals in Ohio in the latest annual rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

Miami Valley Hospital ranked sixth and Kettering Medical Center was ranked 10th out of Ohio’s 237 hospitals.

U.S. News & World Report’s annual report each year ranks best overall hospitals as well as top performing specialties.

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U.S. News & World Report is one of many research tools that patients can use when evaluating the quality of a hospital. The Leapfrog Group maintains an online tool, hospitalsafetygrade.org, where hospitals are scored based on areas like infection rates, practices to prevent errors and problems with surgery. Leapfrog uses a mix of self-reported data and data that hospitals reported to regulators.

Medicare.gov also has online search tools for researching hospitals, as well as nursing homes, inpatient rehab facilities and other medical services. For hospitals, people can use Medicare.gov to compare different facilities based on a wide range of measures such as complication rates, patient satisfaction surveys and whether medical imaging is recommended appropriately.

U.S. News evaluates each hospital in up to 16 medical specialties.

Last year, Miami Valley ranked 49th in the nation for diabetes and endocrinology care, 48th for nephrology, and 28th in pulmonology. From last year to this year, the hospital moved from fourth to sixth overall in Ohio.

“As we strive to continue to get better, so do other hospitals across the nation. I wouldn’t say we use it as a benchmark, but our goal is to always continue to strive for excellence and be in the top tier rankings with as many of our programs as possible,” said Mike Uhl, president of Miami Valley Hospital.

The highest ranking hospital in Ohio is the Cleveland Clinic, followed by University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Miami Valley Hospital, which is operated by Dayton-based Premier Health, had the highest overall rank out of the Dayton and Cincinnati area both this year and last year.

“We can always talk about the great thing we’re doing, but when we’re acknowledged by a national publication that has very strict criteria of how they grade hospitals, and we stack up with some of the best hospitals in the state of Ohio, it’s just another validation of the great things we’re continuing to do here,” Uhl said.

Miami Valley Hospital also was recognized as high performing in 11 specialties including nephrology, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery, aortic valve surgery, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, colon cancer surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hip replacement, knee replacement, and lung cancer surgery.

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Kettering Medical Center, which is part of Kettering Health Network, was recognized as high performing in abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, colon cancer surgery, heart failure care, hip replacement, knee replacement, and lung cancer surgery.

“We are extremely pleased and proud to receive this recognition from U.S. News & World Report,” said Wally Sackett, president of Kettering Medical Center. “Our hospital maintains high standards for quality so that we can transform the care experience for each patient who comes through our doors.”

Dayton Children’s Hospital also had one of its specialties that made a separate list ranking children’s hospitals.

The pediatric hospital, headquartered just north of downtown, ranked 39th out of 50 for its pulmonology department, which is a Cystic Fibrosis Center.

“Our team works hard to go above and beyond for each child, ensuring they and their families have the very best care in a personalized plan that works for their unique needs,” said Dr. Daniel Evans, division chief of pulmonology at Dayton Children’s.