The Mid-East Region's Top 5 Teaching Hospitals

137 hospitals earned national distinction in at least one of the 16 adult specialties studied in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings of American hospitals.  An examination of those rankings reveals that some of the very best teaching hospitals in the U.S. are based in the Mid-East region of the country.  Today we take a look at the top 5 teaching hospitals in the region as derived from the U.S. News study.

Top 5 Teaching Hospitals

The 951 bed, Baltimore based, Johns Hopkins Hospital is not just the top teaching hospital in the region, it is one of the very best hospitals in the nation, earning 3rd place nationally in the U.S. News rankings.  Johns Hopkins earned distinction in 15 of 16 adult specialties studied in the U.S. News survey.  This includes best in the nation in Rheumatology, 3rd best nationally in 4 other specialties (Ear, Nose & Throat, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, and Psychiatry) and top 10 rankings in 6 more specialties (Cancer, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology and Urology).  Johns Hopkins also has strong credentials in children's medicine as it earned national distinction in 10 of 10 pediatric specialties examined in the U.S. News study.

New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, based in New York City, also earned national recognition in 15 adult specialties.  This 2,262 bed teaching hospital is #1 in the nation in Psychiatry, #3 nationally in three specialties (Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Nephrology and Rheumatology) and ranks in the top 12 nationally in seven other specialties (Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Pulmonology, Rehabilitation and Urology).  Like Johns Hopkins, New York-Presbyterian has a strong presence in children's medicine, earning national rankings in 10 pediatric specialties.  New York-Presbyterian is also rated as a top 10 hospital nationally in the most recent U.S. News survey.

Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian, which is nationally ranked in 13 adult specialties, is the third highest ranking teaching hospital in the Mid-East region.  Based in Philadelphia, this 784 bed teaching hospital ranks in the top 10 nationally in four specialties (Ear, Nose & Throat, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology and Pulmonology) and in the top 15 nationally in seven other adult specialties. Penn Presbyterian is not only a leading teaching hospital in the Mid-East region, the U.S. News study rates it among the 10 best nationally, too.

UPMC-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center also ranks nationally in 13 adult specialties.  UPMC, which has 1,528 beds, ranks in the top 10 nationally in five adult specialties (Ear, Nose & Throat, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Rheumatology, Psychiatry and Orthopedics) and in the top 15 nationally in 3 others.  Although ranking in the same number of adult specialties as Penn Presbyterian, and ranking in the top 10 nationally in one more specialty, overall UPMC scored below its in-State neighbor in the U.S. News survey as it had fewer top 15 and top 25 rankings.  That said, UPMC is definitely one of the preeminent hospitals in the country, earning a top 15 spot nationally in the U.S. News rankings.

Rounding out the Mid-East Region's Top 5 Teaching Hospitals is the 791 bed, New York City based, NYU Langone Medical Center.  NYU Langone Medical Center ranks nationally in 12 adult specialties, with top 10 rankings in five specialties (Orthopedics, Geriatrics, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation).  Among all hospitals nationally, NYU Langone Medical Center earned recognition in the U.S. News study as among the top 15 hospitals in the country.

To find other teaching hospitals in the Mid-East region and elsewhere, visit our U.S. Teaching Hospitals resource page.

The Top 5 Teaching Hospitals in the Southeast

Only 137 hospitals in the U.S. earned national recognition in at least one of the 16 adult specialties examined in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings of American hospitals.  Fourteen of the hospitals earning such a distinction are teaching hospitals from the Southeast. Based on those rankings, here are the Top 5 Teaching Hospitals in the Southeast.

The 819 bed, Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, holds the highest position among teaching hospitals in the Southeast as derived from the U.S. News rankings.  Duke University Hospital earned national rankings in 12 of 16 adult specialties, including top 10 national rankings in four of those specialties (Urology, Pulmonology, Ophthalmology and Cardiology & Heart Surgery).  In three other specialties (Diabetes & Endocrinology, Nephrology, and Rheumatology) it ranked in the top 20 nationally. 

Emory University Hospital in Atlanta also earned national rankings in 12 of 16 adult specialties, although it earned no top 10 rankings in any specialty.  That said, this 579 teaching hospital earned top 20 rankings in five specialties (Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Geriatrics, Neurology & Neurosurgery, and Ophthalmology).  In three other adult specialties (Cancer, Gynecology and Urology), Emory University Hospital earned top 30 national rankings.

Florida Hospital Orlando, with more than 2,200 beds, earns a spot among the Top 5 Teaching Hospitals in the Southeast on the strength of its national rankings in 9 of 16 adult specialties.  It's strongest specialties are in Gynecology, where it ranks 13th nationally, and Diabetes & Endocrinology, where it ranks 16th.  In two other specialties, Urology and Geriatrics, it earned top 30 rankings nationally per the U.S. News survey.

Based in Nashville, the 966 bed Vanderbilt University Medical Center earned national rankings in 8 of 16 adult specialties.  This includes two top 10 national rankings, in Urology and Nephrology, and two more top 20 rankings nationally, in Pulmonology and Ear, Nose & Throat.

It is a close contest for the last spot on the list of the The 5 Best Teaching Hospitals in the Southeast.  The 853 bed, Winston-Salem, North Carolina based, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has national rankings in 7 adult specialties, including 17th best nationally in Cancer and 18th best in Nephrology.  The 946 bed, Gainesville, Florida based, UF Health Shands Hospital also has national rankings in 7 adult specialties, but only one top 20 national ranking (13th in Nephrology) and fewer top 30 and top 40 rankings than does Wake Forest Baptist.  So while Wake Forest Baptist earned marginally better recognition in its adult specialties per the U.S News survey, in our estimation UF Health Shands merits honorable mention as one of the top all around teaching hospitals in the Southeast.

To find other teaching hospitals in the Southeast and elsewhere, visit our U.S. Teaching Hospitals resource page.

Top Teaching Hospitals in the Southeast

The Mental Health Care Shortage by Region

Areas and population groups that are served by fewer than 1 psychiatrist for every 30,000 people earn from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) designation as a mental health care shortage region.  Over 4,000 population groups, with approximately 114 million residents,  have been designated as mental health care shortage areas by the HRSA.  The HRSA further estimates that more than 2,600 additional psychiatrists are needed nationally to eliminate these shortage area designations.  To get a perspective on the severity of the mental health care shortage by region, we aggregated HRSA State-level data into regions based on classifications used here by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

To measure the relative severity of the mental health care shortage from one region to the next, we used a metric that we call the shortage quotient.   This quotient compares a region's share of the national mental health practitioner deficit against that area's share of the overall national population that live in shortage areas.  For example, if a specific region had a psychiatrist deficit that was 4% of the national shortfall, and that region's population accounted for 5% of the national population that lived in mental health care shortage areas, then its shortage quotient would be 0.80 (4% divided by 5%).  A shortage quotient below 1.0 would mean an region's psychiatrist shortage would be less severe than the national average, whereas a shortage quotient above 1.0 would mean the region had a more severe shortage of psychiatrists than the national average.

As of August 2015, HRSA data indicates that, on a relative basis, the region with the most severe mental health care shortage was New England.  Although most other regions had a bigger share of the national mental health practitioner deficit, the shortage in New England was proportionately worse than all other regions.  It's 4.7% share of the national mental health practitioner deficit is disproportionately large considering that the region only accounts for 3.2% of the national population living in designated mental health care shortage areas according the the HRSA.  Excluding U.S. Territories, the mental health care shortage by region breaks down as follows:  

The 5 Best Teaching Hospitals in the Plains Region

Only 137 hospitals, out of almost 5,000 hospitals in the U.S., earned national recognition in at least one of the 16 adult specialties examined in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings of American hospitals.  Nine of those 137 were Plains Region teaching hospitals.

Atop the list of the 5 Best Teaching Hospitals in the Plains Region is the internationally renown Mayo Clinic.  Based in Rochester, Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic rated not only as the best regionally, but 2nd best in the entire nation.  With more than 1,100 beds, the Mayo Clinic earned national rankings in 15 of 16 adult specialties, including best in the nation rankings for 8 specialties (Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Pulmonology, and Urology).

St. Louis based Barnes-Jewish Hospital earned national rankings in 14 of 16 specialties, with its strongest specialty being Pulmonology, where it ranked 8th nationally.  With over 1,300 beds, Barnes-Jewish Hospital is one of the preeminent teaching hospitals both regionally and nationally.

The 623 bed, Kansas City based, University of Kansas Hospital earned national rankings in 12 specialties.  Pulmonology and Geriatrics were its strongest specialties, where it ranked 17th nationally in both areas.

The University of Iowa Hospital, the 685 bed teaching hospital based in Iowa City, ranked 7th nationally in Ophthalmology and 8th nationally in the Ear, Nose & Throat specialty.  Overall, the University of Iowa Hospital earned national rankings in 7 specialties.

Rounding out the the 5 Best Teaching Hospitals in the Plains Region is St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City.  This 410 bed teaching hospital earned national rankings in 7 specialties.  Its two best specialties were Gynecology, where it ranked 19th nationally, and Cardiology & Heart Surgery where it ranked 20th.

To find other teaching hospitals in the Plains Region and elsewhere, visit our U.S. Teaching Hospitals resource page.

Best Teaching Hospitals in the Plains Region

Verifying Florida Health Licenses

According to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, well over 450,000 Floridian's are employed as healthcare practitioners.  This includes a wide variety of occupations, ranging from doctors and nurses to orthotists and prosthetists.  More than a dozen regulatory boards are involved in licensing healthcare practitioners in the State.

Florida, like most States, provides online tools that allow the general public to verify the health license status of practitioners that are licensed by the State.  Through Florida's health license verification portal, visitors can lookup the license status for more than 120 health profession designations. This includes checking on the health license status of  doctors, dentists, pharmacists, physician assistants, nurses, podiatrists, optometrists, occupational therapists, physical therapists and acupuncturtists.  Moreover, the Florida health license verification tool provides search results that includes a drilldown feature that offers additional information about each licensee.

To access Florida's primary online health license verification tool, visit our Florida Medical License Lookup page.  Besides the Florida's primary health license verification tool, it includes links to two other important online license status tools operated by the State.  One is the State operated portal to verify the license status of insurance professionals, for those wanting to confirm the license status of health insurance agents and brokers.  The other online tool is one that permits user to verify the license status of Florida's institutional healthcare providers, like hospitals, surgery centers and nursing homes.