For the 20th time in 20 years, UI Hospitals and Clinics appears on the list of the leading hospitals in the United States.

“The Best Hospitals in America” listing is compiled annually by U.S. News & World Report.

At UI Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa's only comprehensive academic medical center, seven specialties are ranked overall. Three of the honored specialties—otolaryngology at third, ophthalmology and visual sciences at sixth, and orthopaedics and rehabilitation at eighth—rank among the nation's top 10 in their respective categories.

The other ranked specialties at UI Hospitals and Clinics include:

• neurology/neurosurgery, 22nd
• cancer, 27th
• kidney, 34th
• gynecology, 36th

The 2009-2010 health care rankings are accessible July 16 online at http://www.usnews.com/besthospitals and will be on sale on newsstands beginning July 21.

Jean Robillard, MD, vice president for medical affairs with University of Iowa Health Care, said the rankings provide yet another indicator of high quality patient care.

"One of the great advantages that academic medical centers like the University of Iowa offer to patients is the opportunity to receive leading edge care," Robillard said. “This is where we take breakthroughs that happen in the research lab and translate them into treatments that directly benefit patients.”

“These rankings are a testament to skill and compassion of all of our faculty and staff, and their deep devotion to serve our patients,” said Kenneth Kates, associate vice president, UI Health Care and CEO, UI Hospitals and Clinics.

Robillard and Kates cautioned that no one should make decisions about their health care based solely upon such rankings. That decision should be made after considering an array of factors and in consultation with the patient's physician.

Video Interviews about the Rankings:

Keith Carter, MD, head of Ophthalmology

Bruce Gantz, MD, head of Otolaryngology

Jody Buckwalter, MD, head of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation

For more information:

U.S. News & World Report 2009 Rankings

Jean Robillard, MD

UI Carver College of Medicine

Other UI Hospitals and Clinics Honors and Recognitions