US News & World Report: Sharp Memorial Hospital Among Best Community Hospitals

San Diego — Sharp Memorial Hospital recently landed on one of the nation’s most prestigious lists of hospitals. U.S. News & World Report released its list of the 65 Best Community Hospitals in the nation and highlighted San Diego’s own Sharp Memorial for excellence in urology.

“It’s an honor to be recognized for the stellar performance of our urology department,” said Tim Smith, Sharp Memorial Hospital CEO. “We’re especially pleased to be selected for this list based on our effective use of innovative therapies.”

U.S. News & World Report recognized hospitals based on the advanced technologies utilized, the quality of the nursing staff and patient services, availability of a trauma center and the number of discharges over the past three years. Sharp Memorial scored favorably in each category, and received a perfect score for its use of advanced technologies such as an in-house lithotripter for treating kidney stones and the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System®.

“Less downtime and faster recoveries are very important to our patients. That’s why we’re committed to offering the latest procedures available in urology using technologies like the da Vinci,” said Ronald MacIntyre, MD, board-certified urologist and Sharp Memorial-affiliated physician.

Sharp Memorial is part of Sharp HealthCare, which was the first in San Diego to offer minimally invasive robotic surgery in January 2005. Sharp offers da Vinci surgeries for urology, gynecology and cardiology. The hospital system has conducted more surgeries using the technology and has more affiliated physicians performing surgeries with da Vinci than any other provider in the area.

Sharp Memorial Hospital
With a tradition of excellence since 1955, Sharp Memorial Hospital is recognized internationally for outstanding programs in emergency and trauma services, surgery, cardiac and vascular care, cancer treatment, rehabilitation, orthopaedic and neurological services, women’s health, weight-loss surgery, multi-organ transplantation and home care. A Magnet-designated facility for nursing excellence, Sharp Memorial recently completed an expansion to become San Diego’s first hospital with all private patient rooms.

The new 315,000-square-foot, 334-bed structure, named the Stephen Birch Healthcare Center at Sharp Memorial Hospital, is also the first hospital in San Diego to open since 1993. Sharp Memorial sits on the Sharp Metropolitan Medical Campus, which is also home to Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women, Sharp Memorial Hospital Rehabilitation Center, Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital and Sharp Memorial Outpatient Pavilion. Superior care is also provided at Sharp Vista Pacifica Chemical Dependency Recovery Hospital in Linda Vista. More than 1,000 physicians on the medical staff and 3,800 employees support these entities.

Sharp Memorial is part of Sharp HealthCare, the region’s largest health care provider and a 2007 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient. To learn more about Sharp Memorial, visit www.sharp.com/memorial or call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-827-4277).