St. Luke’s Health Recognized Among Best Hospitals in U.S.

HOUSTON, TX – (July 16, 2024) – Seven St. Luke’s Health hospitals are recognized in the 2024-25 edition of the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals publication, the most ever for the Texas health system. The annual rankings and ratings are designed to support patients, families and doctors in making informed choices about where to seek care for specific hospital services.

Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center ranked nationally as a Best Hospital in the following four specialties:

• Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery (The Texas Heart Institute), ranked No. 19
• Diabetes & Endocrinology, ranked No. 48
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, ranked No. 41
• Neurology & Neurosurgery, ranked No. 36 (tie)

Baylor St. Luke’s earned top “High Performing” ratings for its Cancer, Geriatrics, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology & Lung Surgery, and Urology service lines. The following procedures and conditions also earned “High Performing” ratings:

• Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
• Aortic Valve Surgery
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Colon Cancer Surgery
• Diabetes
• Heart Attack
• Heart Bypass Surgery
• Heart Failure
• Hip Fracture
• Kidney Failure
• Leukemia, Lymphoma & Myeloma
• Pneumonia
• Prostate Cancer Surgery
• Stroke
• Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)

Overall, Baylor St. Luke’s is ranked No. 2 in the Houston Metro Area and No. 4 in Texas. 

“We are proud of the hard work and commitment of our team at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center who provide exceptional care with humankindness every day to patients from around the world,” said Brad Lembcke, MD, President of Baylor St. Luke’s. “Recognition from U.S. News further demonstrates the power of research, innovation and excellence at Baylor St. Luke’s.” 

In addition, the following St. Luke’s Health hospitals earned top “High Performing” ratings for the following procedures and conditions:

• St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital: Acute Kidney Failure, Colon Cancer Surgery, COPD, Heart Failure, Pneumonia, Stroke
• St. Luke’s Health-Lakeside Hospital: Hip Fracture
• St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Hospital-Lufkin: Stroke, Heart Failure 
• St. Luke’s Health-Patients Medical Center: Diabetes
• St. Luke’s Health-The Vintage Hospital: Acute Kidney Failure, Pneumonia
• St. Luke’s Health-The Woodlands Hospital: Acute Kidney Failure, COPD, Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Pneumonia, Stroke

U.S. News evaluated nearly 5,000 hospitals across 15 specialties and 20 procedures and conditions; only 11% of evaluated hospitals earned a Best Hospitals ranking. Hospitals awarded a “Best” designation excelled at factors such as clinical outcomes, level of nursing care and patient experience.

“For 35 years, U.S. News has been a leading resource for patients navigating their health care decisions,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. “A 'Best Hospital' recognition empowers patients to seek out medical care from the best of the best to treat their illness or condition.”

To calculate the Best Hospitals rankings, U.S. News evaluated each hospital’s performance on objective measures such as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications and level of nursing care. The Best Hospitals Specialty rankings methodology and Procedures & Conditions ratings methodology measure patient outcomes using data from millions of records provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This year, among other methodology refinements, U.S. News incorporated new data on care provided to patients with Medicare Advantage insurance and on care provided to outpatients, nearly doubling the number of patients included in its annual data analysis. The Procedures & Conditions ratings are based entirely on objective quality measures.

For more information, visit Best Hospitals and use #BestHospitals on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter). 

About St. Luke’s Health

St. Luke’s Health is home to 16 hospitals covering Houston, Brazos Valley, Brazosport, and Lufkin and includes Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, the research and teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine. St. Luke’s Health is home to the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, a nationally accredited, NCI-designated cancer center. Its integrated network of care includes more than 380 employed and 1,600 clinically aligned network providers, and more than 21,000 employees, providers, interns, and volunteers delivering high-value, nationally-ranked quality care within a Christian ministry of healing. St. Luke’s Health is a part of CommonSpirit Health.

About U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower consumers, business leaders and policy officials to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives and communities. A multifaceted digital media company with Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars, News, Real Estate, Careers and 360 Reviews platforms, U.S. News provides rankings, independent reporting, data journalism, consumer advice and U.S. News Live events. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.