Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Takin' Care of Business

The U.S. News & World Report has come out with their Best Hospitals Honor Roll list, on which Vanderbilt University Medical Center finally finds itself. U.S. News went a step further to single out VUMC with an extensive write-up by two reporters who spent five days at the hospital complex. The article's a long one, but I think it's great that our hospital is getting some well-deserved praise.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville is no stranger to Best Hospitals—last year it ranked in nine of 16 specialties. But this is the first year it has been named, along with only 18 other facilities, to the elite Honor Roll for its high rankings in multiple specialties. The hospital is huge and growing, with 847 beds; more than 1.2 million patients streamed through its doors in 2007. Most come for routine care, but many come because they need the level of advanced care that only a major referral center can provide.

Last month, two U.S. News reporters paid a five-day visit to the sprawling campus to sample the state of medicine practiced there and get at the personality of the place. They found a blend of pioneering and progressive skills, delivered with a healthy dose of humanity and southern gentility and propelled by that all-too-elusive culture of excellence.

Reports like these always excite me because I love to hear about success in medicine. I am fascinated with the types of advances modern medicine has seen, and that's not just with medical procedure; if you read the piece, you can see how computer technology has made recording and retrieving medical files much easier at VUMC. With new buildings for the main and children's hospitals, VUMC is doing lots of great things to continue to provide top-notch care in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky. Bravo.