U.S. News rates The Miriam Hospital best in Providence metro

PROVIDENCE – The Miriam Hospital is once again leading the pack in the region, according to new rankings released by U.S. News & World Report.

For at least the fourth year in a row, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Miriam Hospital as the No. 1 hospital in the Providence metro region, which includes the rest of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The publication, which also produces an influential annual rating of colleges and universities, released its 2021-2022 Best Hospitals ranking on Tuesday, listing The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., as the best in the country, with Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston coming in fifth place nationwide.

In its ranking for the Providence metro region, two hospital systems were tied for second place honors: Rhode Island Hospital and Southcoast Hospitals, a system of three partner hospitals located in New Bedford, Wareham and Fall River.

The annual report also included a separate ranking of hospitals for each state in the country, putting The Miriam Hospital at the top for the Ocean State.

The nonprofit hospital at 164 Summit Ave. in Providence was ranked last year as No. 48 nationally for urology. But The Miriam did not make the cut this time for the top 50 best hospitals for a urology specialty in 2021, as part of U.S. News & World Report’s adult healthcare specialty rankings.

However, The Miriam was recognized as “high performing” for three adult health care specialties –urology, neurology/neurosurgery and orthopedics – meaning that, while the hospital didn’t make the top 50 for these specialties, it was significantly better than the average hospital in these areas, according to U.S. News & World Report. And The Miriam was recognized as “high performing” for nine types of procedures, according to U.S. News & World Report, including colon cancer surgery, COPD treatment, diabetes treatment, heart attack treatment, heart failure treatment, hip replacement, kidney failure, knee replacement and stroke treatment.

Miriam, which like Rhode Island Hospital is part of the Lifespan nonprofit health system founded in 1994, said it’s proud of its high marks amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our [No. 1] priority through the pandemic has been to maintain excellent care for our patients and their families,” said Maria Ducharme, president of The Miriam Hospital. “It’s a testament to the work of  The Miriam Hospital’s amazing team that, under such incredibly challenging circumstances, not only do we continue to be ranked No. 1 in the state and the metro region, we also were classified as ‘high performing’ in a remarkable number of specialties – 12, the most in the recent memory.”

The 32nd annual rankings were based on a multifaceted comparison of more than 4,750 medical centers nationwide, analyzing 15 different adult health care specialties and 17 medical procedures, the publication said.

Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com.