Keck Medical Center of USC named to 2019-20 U.S. News Best Hospitals Honor Roll

Keck Medical Center of USC, which includes Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, was ranked No. 16 on the U.S. News & World Report 2019-20 Best Hospitals Honor Roll, hospital officials announced early Tuesday. The academic medical center, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, also was ranked among the top 5 hospitals in California and top 3 hospitals in Los Angeles.

“Keck Medical Center achieving Honor Roll recognition after only a decade of operation illustrates the health system’s remarkable growth and steadfast commitment to providing world-class, research-driven academic medicine,” said Tom Jackiewicz, MPH, CEO of Keck Medicine of USC. “We are extremely proud to have earned this distinction among a list of storied medical institutions; however, it’s the trust our patients place in us each and every day that allows us to succeed.”

The Best Hospitals rankings and ratings are released annually to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care for life-threatening conditions or common elective procedures. U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide across 16 specialty areas and nine procedures or conditions. Only 165 hospitals (approximately 3%) were ranked in at least one specialty. Keck Medical Center and others named on the Honor Roll posted high scores across many of these areas of care.

At No. 4 (tie), urology was the medical center’s highest-ranked specialty, making it the highest-ranked urology specialty in Southern California.

Eight additional specialties — geriatrics (No. 6), ophthalmology (No. 11), cardiology & heart surgery (No. 11), gastroenterology & GI surgery (No. 13), nephrology (No. 13), neurology & neurosurgery (No. 16), cancer (No. 21, tie) and pulmonology & lung surgery (No. 33) — also placed in the nation’s top 35, and orthopedics was rated as High Performing. Keck Medical Center also was rated High Performing (the highest rating possible) in eight of nine evaluated procedures and conditions: heart bypass surgery, aortic valve repair, heart failure, hip replacements, knee replacements, lung cancer surgery, colon cancer surgery and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

“The medical center’s impressive specialty rankings are a result of highly skilled physicians, pioneering researchers and dedicated staff committed to providing the best possible experience for some of the most complex patient cases in the country,” Jackiewicz said.

Keck Medical Center implements best practices in numerous aspects of care, from diagnosis to treatment to overall care delivery. In the past year, the health system updated its surgical practices to reduce opioid prescriptions significantly while improving recovery and outcomes. Keck Hospital also received Nurse Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, signifying excellence in outcomes and patient care.

The 2019–20 Best Hospitals rankings are available at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals.