U.S. News & World Report has ranked UAB Hospital number 42 among the “Best Hospitals for Neurology & Neurosurgery” in the country out of a total of 4,855 hospitals evaluated.
According to David Standaert, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the UAB Department of Neurology, the advancement of UAB Hospital into the top 50 neurology and neurosurgery hospitals marks a milestone for his department.
“Our vision is to build a world-class program in neurology to serve the people of Alabama," Standaert said. "We seek to provide state-of-the-art care for neurological disorders, train the next generation of neurologists and neuroscientists, and accelerate progress toward the therapies of the future. We are inspired by this recognition from U.S News & World Report and committed to the continued pursuit of excellence.”
To generate the rankings, U.S. News & World Report evaluated the top 1,227 neurology hospitals and ranked them based on the following criteria:
- Care for brain hemorrhage
- Conditions affecting the central nervous system
- Spinal disorders and injuries
- Degenerative nervous system diagnoses such as MS
- Care for stroke, seizures, meningitis, and more
To further break down the ranking, UAB Hospital achieved a score of “excellent” for neurology and neurosurgery in the following categories:
- 30-day survival (survival 30 days after being admitted relative to other hospitals treating similarly complex conditions)
- Discharging patients to home (how often patients go directly home from this hospital rather than being discharged to another facility)
- Nurse staffing (more nursing care per patient is associated with better outcomes and better patient experience)
- Advanced technologies (diagnostic radioisotope services, image-guided radiation therapy, PET/CT scanner, single-photon-emission CT, and stereotactic radiosurgery)
- Patient services (including an Alzheimer's Disease Center and an Epilepsy Center)
In addition, UAB Hospital ranked “high performing,” “very high,” and “above average” in the categories of stroke, number of patients, and patient experience, respectively. See the neurology and neurosurgery scorecard in its entirety.