U.S. News Ranks Regional Hospital of Scranton Best Hospital

Scranton, Pa.  - U.S. News & World Report released its annual Best Hospitals rankings on July 17 and Regional Hospital was once again named Best Hospital in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metro area for 2012. Regional was also named Best Hospital in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for 2011. U.S. News & World Report also recognized Regional as one of the Best Hospitals in Northeastern Pennsylvania/Lehigh Valley, citing its high performance in gastroenterology and urology. Additionally, Regional Hospital of Scranton was ranked #34 in its listing of the Best Hospitals in Pennsylvania. There are 253 hospitals in Pennsylvania.

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."

 This year’s Best Hospitals listing, the 23rd annual edition, showcases more than 720 of the nation’s roughly 5,000 hospitals. Fewer than 150 are nationally ranked in at least one of 16 medical specialties. The rest of the recognized hospitals met a standard of performance nearly as demanding in one or more specialties.

Regional’s Chief Executive Officer Brooks Turkel says that the team of dedicated physicians, hospital staff, and volunteers at Regional Hospital of Scranton is committed to creating a great place for people to work, physicians to practice medicine, and patients to receive care. "We are proud of the nearly 100 years of service to our community and continuing this great culture while focusing on excellent patient care. We are gratified to receive this recognition from U.S. News, one of the premier rankings for hospitals. Our team draws similar pleasure in knowing that everyday we are working hard to meet the healthcare needs for our community, and doing it at the highest levels. I am personally grateful for our doctors, nurses, clinical professionals, support staff, and volunteers who deeply care for our patients," says Mr. Turkel.

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.

For nearly 100 years, Regional Hospital of Scranton has been proud to serve the residents of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Accredited by the Joint Commission, Regional Hospital is licensed for 198 hospital beds and has a network of more than 400 physicians representing a wide spectrum of specialties. The hospital has been recognized nationally for quality and in 2012 was named one America’s Top 50 Hospitals by HealthGrades, a national accrediting organization. This is the sixth consecutive year Regional has received this award. In addition, Regional received recognition in twelve specialty areas. In 2011Regional was named to Becker’s Hospital Review list of the leading 100 hospitals in the United States

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.