Duke University Hospital Number One in NC

Among Durham's many accolades is its stellar health care offerings.  There are five hospitals here, and key among them is the Duke University Hospital, the number one hospital in North Carolina and the number eight hospital in the nation, according to the US News and World Report.

Duke University Medical Center has once again been named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation's top 10 hospitals. Duke is #8 in this year's rankings, placing it among the nation's elite medical institutions, including Mass General, Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.

This is the first year the magazine ranked the top hospitals in each state, with Duke being named the #1 hospital in North Carolina. The hospital is again #1 in the Triangle. Perhaps more importantly, this year's national ranking marks the 23rd consecutive year that U.S. News & World Report has included Duke among the very best hospitals in the country.

"These rankings recognize the outstanding medical care provided by Duke physicians and health care teams on behalf of patients in our community, state and nation," said Victor J. Dzau, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Duke University Health System. "At a time of uncertainty in the nation's health care environment, Duke Medicine is committed to providing the best care to its patients."

The magazine assesses 16 medical specialties at each of the 5,000 hospitals in the U.S. that are evaluated. The combined assessments of the specialties at each hospital form the basis for the overall hospital ranking. Eight of those specialty areas at Duke made the top 10 in this year's list, while four others placed highly in their respective honor roles.

Among the magazine's 2012-2013 specialty rankings for Duke are:

• Pulmonology #5
• Cardiology & Heart Surgery #7
• Ophthalmology #7
• Geriatrics #8
• Urology, #7
• Gynecology #8
• Orthopedics #9
• Rheumatology #10
• Nephrology #13
• Cancer #13
• Neurology & Neurosurgery #14

Duke Children's Hospital and Health Center was one of 80 facilities that made the rankings in at least one of the 10 specialties analyzed for U.S. News & World Report's 2012-13 Best Children's Hospitals.

Duke Children's Hospital admits roughly 165 patients a day. Nursing excellence is a priority, illustrated by the hospital's status as a Nurse Magnet facility.

Among the Pediatric rankings were Neonatology #11; Cardiology & Heart Surgery #24; Cancer #27; Urology #27; Diabetes & Endocrinology #28; Orthopedics #28; Nephrology#32; Neurology & Neurosurgery #34;Gastroenterology #42; and Pulmonology #44.

The rankings come just one month after Duke University Hospital became the first hospital in North Carolina to achieve the highest level in the N.C. Awards for Excellence program that recognizes exemplary business practices. The Level 4 designation positions Duke to participate at the national level in the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, which assesses and designates model organizations for their leadership, strategic planning, customer service, workforce initiatives and other functions.

Durham is actively promoted as the place Where Great Things Happen, but it has also been known as the City of Medicine.  Health care is Durham's largest employment cluster. With health care like this, it's no wonder that medical tourism is a consideration in the marketing of Durham as a place.  "We often welcome through our Visitors Information Center those in town for treatment.  People come from around the world to see the specialists at Duke," said Sam Poley, the Director of Marketing and Communications for the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau.