MUSC ranked state’s No. 1 hospital 10th year in row

U.S. News & World Report releases annual national rankings

CHARLESTON, S.C. (July 16, 2024) – MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston was named by U.S. News & World Report for the 10th year in a row as the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina, with two of MUSC Health’s specialty areas ranking among the best in the entire country: obstetrics & gynecology (#30) and ear, nose & throat (#36).

Twenty-eight additional MUSC Health programs are considered “high-performing” specialties, procedures or conditions in the 2024-2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings, represented in the following MUSC Health system:

MUSC Health University Medical Center: cancer; gastroenterology & GI surgery; rheumatology; urology; aortic valve surgery; colon cancer surgery; gynecological cancer surgery; heart attack; heart bypass surgery; heart failure; hip replacement; kidney failure; knee replacement; leukemia, lymphoma & myeloma; lung cancer surgery; pneumonia; prostate cancer surgery; stroke.

MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown and MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Northeast increased from two high-performing areas to four in 2024-25: heart attack, heart bypass surgery, heart failure and hip replacement.

MUSC Health Florence Medical Center: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report again for the quality of our services. As an institution, we wake up every day focused on providing the best possible care we can, and it’s nice when independent organizations notice," said MUSC Health Florence CEO Jay Hinesley.

Regional Medical Center (now MUSC Health-Orangeburg): heart failure.

“As the only public, statewide hospital system, MUSC Health remains dedicated to preserving and optimizing human life in South Carolina and beyond,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., CEO of MUSC Health and executive vice president for Health Affairs, University. “Our teams across all divisions are committed to changing what’s possible in health care, ensuring that our patients receive the right care, at the right place, at the right time. It is a privilege to work alongside such committed, talented and compassionate individuals.”

U.S. News & World Report unveiled its 35th edition of the Best Hospitals rankings online. These rankings are designed to help patients with life-threatening or rare conditions identify hospitals that excel in treating the most difficult cases. Best Hospitals 2024-25 includes consumer-friendly data.

The U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals methodology evaluated each hospital’s performance using a variety of measures such as survival rates, complication rates, patient experience and level of nursing care. The Best Hospitals methodology factors in data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, American Hospital Association, professional organizations and medical specialists.

Changes to the Methodology for 2024–2025

According to RTI International, a nonprofit research institute that supports the collection and analysis of the U.S. News & World Report data used to generate the rankings, “Methodological evolution is necessary because health care itself is constantly evolving. For example, the growing role of outpatient care served as an impetus for several of this year’s changes. Stakeholder feedback led us to increase weight on objective quality measures, decrease weight on expert opinion, and add a transparency measure. Other input from clinical experts encouraged us to modify hospital eligibility criteria in several specialties and, in other specialties, revise case inclusion criteria. Changes to outcome measure definitions and risk adjustment, meanwhile, leveraged insights gained by the U.S. News team and scientific advances made by a federal agency.”

MUSC Health carefully analyzes RTI’s annual methodology changes to assess most accurately the impact these decisions have on our rankings and the quality of patient care we provide. By doing so, we ensure that we adapt effectively and maintain our commitment to excellence in health care.

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About MUSC 

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a unique mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates more than 3,200 students in six colleges – Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy – and trains more than 900 residents and fellows in its health system. MUSC brought in more than $300 million in research funds in fiscal year 2023, leading the state overall in research funding. MUSC also leads the state in federal and National Institutes of Health funding. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Patient care is provided at 16 hospitals (includes owned or governing interest), with approximately 2,700 beds and four additional hospital locations in development, more than 350 telehealth sites and nearly 750 care locations situated in all regions of South Carolina. In 2024, for the 10th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC has a total enterprise annual operating budget of $5.9 billion. The 31,000 MUSC family members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, students, contract employees, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research and patient care.