Milwaukee Metro Aurora Hospitals Rank Nationally

U.S. News & World Report has recognized three Milwaukee metro area Aurora Health Care sites in its 2012-13 Best Hospitals rankings, available online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals.

In its 23rd year, the annual rankings showcase more than 720 hospitals out of about 5,000 hospitals nationwide. Each is ranked among the country’s top hospitals in at least one medical specialty and/or regionally ranked among the best hospitals in its metro area.

This year Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center, in Milwaukee, ranks among the top 50 hospitals in the nation in four specialties: cardiology and heart surgery, gastroenterology, neurology and neurosurgery and pulmonology.  This recognition places these programs in the nation’s top one percent.

The following Aurora sites were regionally recognized: :

• Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center – ranked #1 in the Milwaukee metro area and #2 in Wisconsin
• Aurora West Allis Medical Center – ranked #3 in the Milwaukee metro area and #6 in Wisconsin
• Aurora Sinai Medical Center – ranked #5 in the Milwaukee metro area and #11 in Wisconsin
• Aurora BayCare Medical Center – ranked #8 in Wisconsin

The hospital rankings, said U.S. News Health Rankings Editor Avery Comarow, are like a GPS-type aid to help steer patients to hospitals with strong skills in the procedures and medical conditions that present the biggest challenges. “All of these hospitals are the kinds of medical centers that should be on your list when you need the best care,” said Comarow. “They are where other hospitals send the toughest cases.”

Covering 94 metro areas in the U.S., the regional hospital rankings complement the national rankings by including hospitals with solid performance nearly at the level of nationally ranked institutions.

The regional rankings are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital or who may not be willing or able to travel long distances for medical care. The U.S. News metro rankings give many such patients and their families more options of hospitals within their community and in their health insurance network.

The rankings were published by U.S. News in collaboration with RTI International, a research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Highlights of the 2012-13 rankings will appear in the U.S. News Best Hospitals 2013 guidebook, to go on sale in August.

The complete rankings and methodology are available at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals.

Aurora Health Care is a not-for-profit health care provider and a nationally recognized leader in efforts to improve health care quality. Aurora offers services at sites in more than 90 communities throughout eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

U.S. News & World Report is a multi-platform publisher of news and analysis, which includes the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Personal Finance, Education, Travel, Cars, and Public Service/Opinion, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. U.S. News & World Report’s signature franchise includes its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its annual "Best" series of consumer web guides and publications that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, mutual funds, health plans, and more.