Athens Regional Medical Center, the largest and most comprehensive hospital serving the 17 counties surrounding Athens, has been named the top hospital in Northeast Georgia by US News & World Report.  

The magazine ranks ARMC tenth in its 2015 “Best Hospitals in Georgia” issue out of 170 hospitals throughout the state.  ARMC is one of only four hospitals outside the metro Atlanta area in the top 10.

“This ranking reinforces that our doctors, nurses and support staff are exceptional and the patient care they provide is nothing short of excellent,” said Dr. Chuck Peck, President and CEO of Athens Regional Health System.  “This is a tribute to all of the people committed to the mission of this hospital. We are very proud to earn this distinction.”

Four specialties at ARMC were cited in the report: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Heart bypass surgery, Heart failure and Hip replacement.

“I could not be more proud of this recognition,” said Athens Regional Health System Board Chairman Jim Hopkins.  “I know firsthand the excellent work that we do in the system, so it is rewarding to have this external validation.”

The “Best Hospitals” rankings are updated every July. They are grouped into 16 individual specialty lists. Twelve of the 16 showcase the 50 top-scoring hospitals, based largely on death rates for patients who represent especially challenging cases, on patient safety, and on other measures of performance that can be assessed using hard data. An annual reputational survey of physicians, who are asked to name hospitals they consider the best in their specialty for difficult cases, is also factored into the rankings. 

Hospitals are ranked by reputation alone in the four other Best Hospitals specialties, based on the latest three annual physician surveys. Those receiving nominations from an average of at least five percent of the responding specialists and the last three surveys are nationally ranked Best Hospitals.  The full report is available at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/ga.