Orthopaedic program at Rush ranked 12th nationally; Central DuPage Hospital climbs to 35th

(August 24, 2009 CHICAGO, IL)

Rush University Medical Center has once again been named one of the nation's top hospitals for orthopaedics by U.S.News & World Report. The magazine's 2009-10 "America's Best Hospitals" issue also ranked the orthopaedic program at Central DuPage Hospital as the 35th best in the country.

Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush physicians are on the medical staffs at both Rush University Medical Center and Central DuPage Hospital.

At #12 in the nation, Rush is ranked higher than any other program in Illinois in orthopaedics. Just 174 out of 4,861 hospitals in the United States (about 3 percent) scored high enough to rank in even a single specialty, according to the magazine. Central DuPage Hospital enjoyed its third consecutive appearance on the list in the orthopaedics category, improving 12 places from its 2008 ranking of 47.

"Our practice is extremely proud of our role in the success of both the Rush and CDH Orthopaedic Programs," says Dr. Charles Bush-Joseph, Managing Partner of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush. "Through our leadership position in orthopaedic research and patient care, we look forward to helping these programs achieve even greater success."

Now in its 20th year, the 2009-10 "America's Best Hospitals" guide provides the most extensive hospital ranking to date. According to U.S.News & World Report, the purpose of the "America's Best Hospitals" ranking is to help patients "who need medical sophistication that most facilities simply cannot offer."

The "America's Best Hospitals" rankings are driven by hard data. Hospitals are ranked based on reputation, death rate, patient safety, and care-related factors such as nursing and patient services. 1,859 hospitals received a U.S.News score from 0 to 100. Only the 50 highest scoring hospitals were ranked.

About Rush University Medical Center

Rush University Medical Center is an academic medical center that includes a 613-bed hospital serving adults and children, the 61-bed Johnston R. Bowman Health Center and Rush University. Rush University is home to one of the first medical colleges in the Midwest and one of the nation's top-ranked nursing colleges, as well as graduate programs in allied health, health systems management and biomedical research.

Rush is currently constructing a 14-floor, 806,000-square-foot hospital building at the corner of Ashland Avenue and Congress Parkway. The new hospital, scheduled to open in 2012, is the center piece of a $1 billion, ten-year campus redevelopment plan called the Rush Transformation, which also includes the new orthopedics building, a new parking garage and central power plant completed in June 2009, renovations of selected existing buildings and demolition of obsolete buildings. The new hospital is being designed and built to conserve energy and water, reduce waste and use sustainable building materials. Rush is seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. It will be the first full-service, "green" hospital in Chicago.

About Central DuPage Hospital

Central DuPage Hospital is a nationally recognized 313-bed facility located in Winfield, IL, a suburb west of Chicago. CDH is a leading center for surgical innovations and was one of the first institutions in the nation to offer robotic-assisted surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery with bio-engineered bone protein and was the first Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in DuPage County. Thomson Reuters has listed CDH as a 100 Top Hospital in the U.S. for the last three consecutive years.