National Jewish Named Best Respiratory Hospital in 2006

For the ninth consecutive year, National Jewish Medical and Research Center has been named the #1 respiratory hospital in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The ranking is part of the 2006 “America ’s Best Hospitals” guide published by the weekly newsmagazine.

As part of the ranking, hundreds of board-certified pulmonologists around the country mentioned National Jewish more often than any other hospital when asked to name the best respiratory hospitals in the nation.

“We are gratified to have been named the best again,” said Michael Salem, MD, President and CEO of National Jewish. “All credit for this honor goes to our outstanding faculty and staff, whose expertise, hard work, professionalism, and dedication to our patients make National Jewish worthy of its # 1 ranking.

“We constantly strive to improve our knowledge and patient care. To that end, we recently began a comprehensive strategic planning process, which we believe will allow us to continue to lead the field in patient care, research, and education.”

U.S. News ranked hospitals’ respiratory programs based on their reputations among board-certified pulmonologists, as well as on mortality rates and care-related factors, such as nursing and patient services. National Jewish had the highest reputational score among all the respiratory hospitals evaluated. Allergy and immunology programs, which are also specialties of National Jewish, are not ranked by the newsmagazine.

The hospital rankings appear in the July 17, 2006, edition of U.S. News & World Report, which hits newsstands July 10. The rankings are also available on the website, http://www.usnews.com/.

National Jewish is the only medical and research center in the United States devoted entirely to respiratory, allergic and immune-system diseases, including asthma, tuberculosis, emphysema, severe allergies, cystic fibrosis, lupus and other autoimmune diseases.

National Jewish physician/researchers participate in numerous National Institutes of Health studies that evaluate new and existing treatments for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, allergies and other diseases. They also serve on several NIH advisory boards that write guidelines for treatment of respiratory and allergic diseases. National Jewish’s basic research program has also been ranked among the world’s best. 

National Jewish also operates a day school for students in grades K-8 who have medical problems, such as asthma, that may cause frequent absences from school and who may require medical assistance during the normal school day. The Kunsberg School is approved by the Colorado Department of Education. For more  phone 303-398-1102.