FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 17, 2003

UC DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER RANKS
AMONG TOP 50 HOSPITALS IN AMERICA
Nurse-to-patient ratio is among the highest in the country.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — UC Davis Medical Center ranks among the top 50 hospitals in America, according to an annual survey published in the July 28 issue of U.S. News & World Report. The issue hits newsstands Monday, July 21.

Out of more than 6,000 hospitals nationwide, UC Davis Medical Center was ranked 24th for ear, nose and throat; 32nd for orthopaedics; 38th for hormonal disorders; and 40th for cancer.

Only two other Northern California hospitals ranked in the top 50 for cancer: the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center and Stanford Hospital and Clinics.

UC Davis Medical Center’s nurse-patient ratio — 2.97 registered nurses per patient bed — led the charts in each of the four specialties. Only Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston had a higher ratio, at 3.07. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston tied the UC Davis ratio.

UC Davis Medical Center’s nurse-to-patient ratio reflects its status as one of only 54 hospitals nationwide to receive Magnet Nursing Services Recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for excellence in patient care and nursing practices.

UC Davis Medical Center also earned perfect scores in the U.S. News & World Report rankings for technology services in each of the specialty areas.

U.S. News & World Report ranks hospitals based on nurse-to-patient ratios, availability of important medical technology, numbers of procedures performed, patient death rates and other factors.

This is the 14th year U.S. News & World Report has published its “America’s Best Hospitals” ranking. Each year it evaluates top medical centers in 17 medical specialties from pediatrics to geriatrics.

UC Davis Medical Center has consistently ranked among the best hospitals in the magazine’s survey, for every year it has been evaluated. In past years, UC Davis Medical Center also ranked in the top 50 for neurology and neurosurgery, heart and heart surgery, urology, digestive disorders, geriatrics, kidney disease, respiratory disorders and rheumatology.

Copies of all news releases fromUC Davis Health System are available on the Web at
http://news.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

MEDIA CONTACT:
Claudia Morain, Medical News Office, (916) 734-9023

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