UW Medical Center’s care again is ranked No. 1 in state

In U.S. News & World Report, UW Medical Center also received top-50 national rankings in nine specialties.

Media Contact: Barbara Clements - 206.221.6706, bac60@uw.edu


The University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, part of UW Medicine, was named the No. 1 hospital in Washington state and in the Seattle metropolitan area by U.S. News & World Report in its annual "Best Hospitals" rankings. It is the ninth consecutive year that UW Medical Center has earned both distinctions.

picture of Dr. Estell Williams and a medical trainee in the operating room
Dr. Estell Williams instructs a trainee in the operating room at UW Medical Center.

UW Medical Center also received top-50 national rankings in nine specialties: rehabilitation medicine (No. 5); cancer care (No. 9), diabetes and endocrinology (No. 9), ear, nose, and throat (No. 19), gynecology (No. 23), orthopedics (No. 42), pulmonology and lung surgery (No. 47), nephrology (No. 49), and geriatrics (No. 50). 

UW Medical Center’s rehabilitation medicine program is run jointly with UW Medicine’s Harborview Medical Center. Cancer care services are provided by faculty based at both UW Medical Center and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, which is under the ownership of UW Medicine, Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

“To have nine specialties recognized among the nation’s very best is a testament to the excellence of our care model that integrates care with national leadership in research and education,” said Dr. Paul Ramsey, CEO of UW Medicine. “These rankings show that we indeed provide a higher degree of healthcare for our patients and our community.”

“These high rankings are a tribute to the incredible work of all our UW Medicine staff and physicians, especially as we became ground zero for the COVID-19 pandemic. I feel privileged and proud to be part of this team,” said Lisa Brandenburg, president of UW Medicine Hospitals & Clinics.

Gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, and urology all received recognition as "high performing" specialties.

picture of Dr. Irl Hirsch with patient
Dr. Irl Hirsch's expertise treating diabetes contributed to UW Medical Center's high ranking for that program.

In the rankings for common adult procedures and conditions in treating patients 65 or older, UW Medical Center received high performing recognition in aortic valve surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), colon cancer surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart bypass surgery, heart failure, and lung cancer surgery.

Harborview Medical Center received high performing rankings in orthopedics, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, COPD and heart failure.

Valley Medical Center received high performing rankings in heart failure, hip replacement and knee replacement procedures.

For the 2020-21 rankings and ratings, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide in 16 specialties and 10 procedures and conditions. In the 16 specialty areas, only 134 hospitals ranked in at least one specialty. In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized best regional hospitals based on high performing rankings across multiple areas of care.

U.S. News' "Best Hospitals" methodologies in most areas of care are based largely on objective measures such as risk-adjusted survival and discharge-to-home rates, volume, and quality of nursing, among other care-related indicators.

The annual "Best Hospitals" rankings are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care for challenging health conditions or for common elective procedures.

About UW Medicine

UW Medicine is one of the top-rated academic medical systems in the world. With a mission to improve the health of the public, UW Medicine educates the next generation of physicians and scientists, leads one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive biomedical research programs, and provides outstanding care to patients from across the globe. The School of Medicine faculty is second in the nation in federal research grants and contracts with $923.1 million in total revenue (fiscal year 2018) according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

UW Medicine has approximately 30,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $5 billion. UW Medicine includes Airlift Northwest, Harborview Medical Center, UW Medical Center – Montlake, UW Medical Center – Northwest, UW Neighborhood Clinics, UW Physicians, UW School of Medicine and Valley Medical Center.  The UW Physicians practice group is the largest physician practice plan in the region.

UW Medicine shares in the ownership and governance of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Children’s, and also shares in ownership of Children’s University Medical Group with Seattle Children’s. 

For more information, visit uwmedicine.org

For details about UW Medicine, please visit http://uwmedicine.org/about.


Tags:patient care

UW Medicine