FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Five AAEEH Members Honored Among 2009 Best U.S. Hospitals

Arlington, VA (August 3, 2009) Five member facilities of the American Association of Eye and Ear Hospitals (AAEEH) were ranked among “America’s Best Hospitals” in the fields of ophthalmology and otolaryngology by U.S. News & World Report, for its 20th annual edition released on July 15, 2009.

In the specialty of ophthalmology, AAEEH member Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami received the top ranking. Other AAEEH members awarded distinction include: Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, ranked second; the Wills Eye Hospital of Philadelphia ranked third; the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, ranked fourth; and the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary ranked 15th.

In the specialty of otolaryngology, AAEEH member Johns Hopkins Hospital ranked first; the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary ranked fifth.

Johns Hopkins Hospital was also listed as the best hospital overall by garnering the most points in 15 specialties. This is the 18th consecutive year that Johns Hopkins Hospital was awarded the honor of America's best overall hospital. Additionally, Massachusetts General Hospital, affiliated with Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, was ranked the fifth best U.S. hospital.

“The 2009 rankings from U.S News and World Report once again testify that AAEEH member institutions are consistently among the top health care providers in the country,” said AAEEH Executive Director, Robert Betz, Ph.D. “These facilities are centers of excellence in their specialties and subspecialties … they provide some of the best and most cost-effective care in the US.”

The standards for ranking the “Best Hospitals” are rigorous. Of the total 4,861 U.S. medical centers screened, only 174 were of high enough quality to be ranked in a single specialty. Furthermore, just 21 hospitals made the Honor Roll, which is a list reserved for centers with very high rankings in a minimum of six specialties.

For this survey, a total of almost 10,000 physicians were surveyed to name five hospitals they consider among the best in their specialty for difficult cases, without taking into account cost or location. A mortality index, also 32.5 percent of the score, was used to indicate a hospital's ability to keep patients with serious problems alive. Patient safety, new this year, made up 5 percent of the final score. This measurement indicates how well a hospital minimizes harm to patients. And a group of other care-related factors, such as nurse staffing and available technology, accounted for the remaining 30 percent. For more information on the report, including full rankings, please visit http://health.usnews.com .

The AAEEH is comprised of the premier institutions for specialized eye and ear procedures. These centers of excellence offer some of the most innovative teaching programs in the world, routinely treat the most severely ill eye and ear patients, and provide highly specialized services not available in general acute care hospitals.