Christiana Care Health System has maintained its status as one of the best hospitals in the nation.
According to a new set of hospital rankings released by U.S. News and World Report, Christiana Care is the number one hospital in Delaware. It is also ranked number three out of 96 hospitals in the Philadelphia area.
The U.S. News and World Report looked at nearly 5,000 hospitals across the country. Only 137 hospitals were placed in top 50 lists for 16 different specialties.
Christiana Care was recognized for three of its specialties, including gynecology, diabetes and endocrinology, and pulmonary medicine. Its endocrinology and diabetes specialty achieved the highest ranking of the three at 26th in the nation.
Mike Eppehimer, Christiana Care’s senior vice president for acute medicine and neuroscience, says the hospital is sensitive to the issue of Delaware’s growing obese population.
“I think the recognition of our diabetes and endocrinology services is connected to the issues of obesity and some of our other services have helped support that effort as we seek to improve the health and wellness of people in the community," said Eppehimer.
The U.S. News and World Report also gave a high performance ratings to eight additional specialties at Christiana Care, including gastroenterology, orthopaedics and geriatrics.
Eppehimer added the hosptial's attention to patient safety makes them stand out among other hospitals in the region.
“We have had a lot of efforts underway where we’ve been able to reduce harm for our patients and we have received Leapfrog designation which really recognizes top performing safety metrics nationally and it’s been a huge driver of improving care for our neighbors here at Christiana Care,” said Eppehimer.
The Leapfrog Group, a national hospital safety watchdog, had given Christiana Care its third "A" for patient safety earlier this year. In June, Christiana received a national award for its efforts to create safe sleeping environments for infants. Currently, the rates of infant mortality in Delaware are above the national rate.
