Seven UAB Hospital specialty programs are among the nation’s Top 50 – with five among the Top 25 – according to rankings released in the 17th annual America’s Best Hospitals issue of U.S. News & World Report. Rheumatology ranked No. 6 nationally for an unprecedented 15th consecutive year.

Other ranked programs include:

• Heart and heart surgery, No. 14
• Gynecology program, No. 15
• Kidney disease, No. 17
• Cancer program, No. 23
• Orthopedics, No. 47
• Respiratory disorders, No. 48

With its seven ranked programs, UAB Hospital was one of only 176 hospitals, or about 3 percent of U.S. institutions studied — and the only hospital in Alabama or Mississippi — to rank in even one specialty. Sixteen categories were evaluated at America’s 5,189 hospitals.