Royal Oak's Beaumont 1st in 'U.S. News' Best Metro Detroit Hospital Rankings

is ranked first among Metro Detroit hospitals in U.S. News & World Report's first Best Hospitals metro area rankings, the hospital announced today.

The new rankings recognize 622 hospitals in or near major cities with a record of high performance in key medical specialties, including 132 of the 152 hospitals already identified by U.S. News as the best in the nation, according to a Beaumont press release.

Lifelong area resident Kathleen Rainey Beckstrom says she always chooses Beaumont for health care.

"The emergency (department) has been so much better in the past five years or so,” the Royal Oak resident said. “I was actually just there last week in the emergency room with my daughter. We were taken in right away with no delay. The staff was very helpful and polite. We were out of there in 1.5 hours.”

More details from the press release:

In addition to its Metro Detroit ranking, Royal Oak's Beaumont is ranked in six medical specialties in U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” national rankings for 2010.

U.S. News created its national Best Hospitals rankings more than 20 years ago to identify hospitals exceptionally skilled in handling the most difficult cases.

The new metro area rankings are relevant to a much wider range of health care consumers. They are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital. To be ranked in its metro area, a hospital had to score in the top 25 percent among its peers in at least one of 16 medical specialties.

“All of these hospitals provide first-rate care for the majority of patients, even those with serious conditions or who need demanding procedures,” Health Rankings Editor Avery Comarow said in a press release. “The new Best Hospitals metro rankings can tell you which hospitals are worth considering for most medical problems if you live in or near a major metro area.”

For the full list of metro area rankings visit http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/detroit-mi.

All three Beaumont Hospitals are recognized in the new Metro Detroit rankings. Beaumont Hospital, Troy ranks fifth and Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Pointe is ranked eighth are also among the Detroit area’s top-ranked hospitals.

Beaumont Hospitals is a three-hospital regional health care provider with a total of 1,744 licensed beds, more than 14,000 full-time equivalent employees and 3,700 physicians in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties. Beaumont also operates numerous community-based medical centers in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties and other facilities.

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