U.S. News & World Report magazine named Lancaster General Hospital among the top 50 hospitals in the nation in five specialties: orthopedics, heart care and heart surgery, urology, hormonal disorders including diabetes and ear, nose and throat.

The magazine previously named Lancaster General Hospital among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for urology care in 2002. In 2004, the hospital was named among the top 50 hospitals for heart care and heart surgery, and for the treatment of hormonal disorders including diabetes.

For its "America’s Best Hospitals” edition on July 18, the magazine assessed care in 17 specialties. In order to be considered, a hospital must meet one of three standards: membership in the Council of Teaching Hospitals, affiliation with a medical school or availability of specific technology-related services.

A full report on the U.S. News rankings are available online at www.usnews.com.

In each specialty, a hospital must perform a given number of procedures or be cited by at least one physician in the past three years of U.S.News surveys. These hospitals received a score that equally weighs reputation, mortality and certain care-related factors such as nursing.

According to the magazine: “It's an elite group. Just 176 hospitals scored high enough this year to rank in even a single specialty out of all 6,007 U.S. medical centers…

"Many hospitals in the rankings are referral centers, whose physicians see sicker patients and do greater numbers of tough procedures. They follow, often pioneer, advanced treatment guidelines. They conduct bench-to-bedside research. And they exploit advances in imaging, surgical devices, and other technologies.”

Lancaster General Hospital is the only hospital in Lancaster County to have ever attained the U.S. News honor. 

Here’s how Lancaster General Hospital ranked in each of the five honored specialties:

• For Heart Care & Heart Surgery: 34th
• For Hormonal Disorders: 40th
• For Ear, Nose & Throat: 46th
• For Urology: 45th
• For Orthopedics: 47th
  

The U.S.News & World Report ranking is among other awards LGH has received including one of America’s Top 100 Hospitals for six out of the last eight years and one of five Magnet hospitals for clinical excellence in the state, the only one in the region. 

Lancaster General is a system of more than two dozen healthcare providers including Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster General Health Campus, Lancaster General Women & Babies Hospital and Lancaster General Medical Group. Lancaster General Hospital is the keystone of the health system. Its Mission is to advance the health and quality of life of the individuals and communities it serves by providing superior healthcare that demonstrates community benefit.