Spectrum Health Moves Up to Five Nationally-Ranked Programs By U.S. News & World Report

Report Also Lists Seven Specialties as High Performing

Five of Spectrum Health’s medical specialties have been ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report in its Best Hospitals 2014-15 rankings. It also was recognized as high-performing in seven other medical specialties.

Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital and Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital placed 20th in pulmonology, 23^rd in gynecology; 25th in diabetes and endocrinology and 49th in gastroenterology and GI surgery, plus 49^th in ears, nose and throat in the national rankings. This is the first year the hospitals were nationally ranked in gastroenterology and GI surgery, and in ears, nose and throat.

The hospitals also were recognized as high-performing in cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; geriatrics; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics and urology.

For the 2014-15 report, U.S. News evaluated hospitals in 16 adult specialties and ranked the top 50 in most of the specialties. Just 3 percent of the nearly 5,000 hospitals that were analyzed for Best Hospitals 2014-15 earned national ranking in even one specialty.

“We are honored to be ranked among the best hospitals in the country and to have so many specialties considered high-performing,” said Richard C. Breon, President & CEO, Spectrum Health. “It is a tremendous reflection on our physicians and employees and underscores our commitment to providing value and quality to West Michigan.”

“The data tell the story – a hospital that emerged from our analysis as one of the best has much to be proud of,” says U.S. News Health Rankings Editor Avery Comarow. “A Best Hospital has demonstrated its expertise in treating the most challenging patients.”

U.S. News publishes Best Hospitals to help guide patients who need a high level of care because they face particularly difficult surgery, a challenging condition or extra risk because of age or multiple health problems. Objective measures such as patient survival and safety data, adequacy of nurse staffing levels and other data largely determined the rankings in most specialties.

The specialty rankings and data were produced for U.S. News by RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Using the same data, U.S. News produced the state and metro rankings.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system, based in West Michigan, offering a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, which is comprised of 11 hospitals including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital; 170 ambulatory and service sites; 1,080 employed physicians and advanced practice providers including members of the Spectrum Health Medical Group; and Priority Health, a 575,000-member health plan. Spectrum Health is West Michigan’s largest employer with 21,400 employees. The organization provided $250 million in community benefit during its 2013 fiscal year. In 2014, Spectrum Health was named one of the nation’s 15 Top Health Systems® by Truven Health Analytics.