UF health care physicians, researchers and staff can pat themselves on the back and say, "Job well done."
According to U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals rankings, seven specialty programs at Shands have been recognized among the nation's best.
The rankings, which were released Tuesday, consider the reputation of each hospital, its death rate and a set of care-related factors such as nursing, patient services and competence providing care to high-risk patients.
Out of 4,852 medical facilities, only 140 were ranked in 16 specialties.
Urology, cardiology and heart surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, pulmonology and nephrology, cancer and gastroenterology at Shands were all ranked in the top 40.
Urology ranked the highest among the specialty fields at 23rd nationally, tying with Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas.
UF College of Medicine urology chairman Johannes Vieweg said Shands' achievement can't be attributed to just one person.
"The teamwork approach works best for health care," Vieweg said. "It takes the collective to make things work."
Vieweg, who has seen Shands urology unit grow from three to 24 subspecialists since his arrival in 2006, said high-quality patient care and innovation is a large part of Shands' success.
"I hope the ranking will raise awareness about the level of excellence at Shands," he said. "We have a very strong commitment to excellence and always hope to see and serve more patients, not just in Gainesville but in the rest of north Florida and south Florida as well."
Addressing patients' medical issues on a case-by-case basis has been the best way to ensure each patient receives the best care and has continued to raise the bar for medical practices at Shands, Vieweg said.
"We treat patients individually, and it makes a major difference," he said. "We're dealing with the sickest of the sickest, and we're equipped to handle the more difficult cases. We don't see people as a disease, but as an individual."
David Guzick, senior vice president for health affairs and president of the UF and Shands Health System, agreed that teamwork contributed to the high rankings and also recognized the importance of serving a broader community.
He also attributes the success of the facility to the collaboration between Shands and the university.
"UF has the faculty and Shands has the facility," Guzick said. "When you put the two together, special things happen."
Shands Cancer Hospital is pictured. U.S. News & World Report ranked seven programs at Shands among the nation's best.
