Vidant Named Top Regional Hospital
By Michael Abramowitz
The Daily Reflector
July 17, 2012 - Vidant Medical Center in Greenville earned the distinction of being among the best regional hospitals in 2011-12 by U.S. News & World Report, hospital officials announced Tuesday.
U.S. News annually publishes the Best Hospitals rankings in July. At the midpoint of the 2011-12 year, its editors have recognized 247 hospitals outside major metropolitan areas, including Vidant Medical Center, as best regional hospitals.
“We are pleased to be listed by U.S. News as a ‘best hospital’,” said Steve Lawler, president of Vidant Medical Center. “We are committed to providing best-in-class care and best-in-class experience to the people and communities we are so privileged to care for and serve. This ‘best hospital’ status is without question the result of the excellent work of our health are team — our superb medical staff and employees.”
Vidant Medical Center was singled out for recognition of three areas of medical specialty: nephrology, the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases; pulmonology, dealing with diseases involving the respiratory tract; and urology, which focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females and male reproductive systems.
Hospitals like Vidant Medical Center offer a high level of medical care to communities that otherwise might have limited options, said Avery Comarow, U.S. News health rankings editor. All “best regional hospitals” are high performers in at least one medical specialty, capable of providing first-rate care, even for patients who have serious conditions or need demanding procedures.
Lawler told the VMC Board of Trustees on Tuesday at its annual budget meeting that the hospital’s strategists believe that building on key tenets and core competencies year after year are the way to achieve success, focused on delivering the right things at the right times to patients.
“Everything we do ties back to the promise of how we care for the people of eastern North Carolina and how we leverage our talents to provide the best experience and values that hold true year after year in caring for our patients, our communities and our educational partner,” Lawler said.
Operational standards of the center, including those of accountability and attitude, service and safety were developed by medical center employees, Lawler said.
U.S. News annually evaluates nearly 5,000 hospitals in 16 different medical specialties. A combination of statistics-based analysis of delivery of medical specialties — death rates, patient safety, procedure volume, and other objective data — and physicians’ responses to a national survey are factored in its decisions.
The list of selected hospitals in the 2011-12 U.S. News & World Report rankings is available online at www.usnews.com/bestregionalhospitals.
Contact Michael Abramowitz at mabramowitz@reflector.com or 252-329-9571.
