Cardiology, heart surgery and urology programs rank among top 50 in the nation

U.S. News & World Report has recognized VCU Medical Center as the No. 1 hospital in the Richmond metro area for the 10^th year in a row, according to its newly released 2020-21 “Best Hospitals” rankings. VCU Medical Center ranks as the No. 2 hospital in Virginia and among the top 50 in the country for cardiology, heart surgery and urology.

VCU Medical Center ranked No. 44 for cardiology and heart surgery and tied at No. 46 for urology out of more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide. The rankings are based on clinical data, such as patient outcomes, and an annual survey of physicians.

Cardiology and heart surgery ranked best in Virginia

VCU Health Pauley Heart Center is responsible for VCU Medical Center’s excellent heart ranking. Specialty areas considered for the ranking include:

• Aortic valve surgery
• Heart bypass surgery
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
• Heart failure

Pauley Heart Center offers the full spectrum of clinical cardiac services, from consultation to treatment of the most complex cardiac conditions, with expertise in heart transplant, adult congenital heart disease, cardio-oncology, and heart conditions affecting expectant mothers. The Center also includes advanced imaging and state-of-the-art electrophysiology and cardiac catheterization labs for the treatment of coronary artery disease, abnormal heart rhythms and other conditions or diseases of the arteries and veins.

This was the first year that U.S. News included transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in its ranking system. The minimally invasive procedure is an alternative to open-heart surgery for patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis. The procedure involves inserting a new heart valve through a catheter in the groin, advancing the valve upward to the heart and implanting it there. U.S. News also ranked our the nurse staffing of Pauley’s TAVR program as “very high.” This is particularly noteworthy because, as U.S. News states, “more nursing care per patient is associated with better outcomes and better patient experience.”

For other advanced procedures, such as heart transplant, the patient survival rate is 96.4%, which exceeds the national average of 91.3%. Pauley Heart Center is a national leader in device-based treatments for advanced heart failure and is a center of excellence for sarcoidosis. 

Urology —recognized repeatedly by U.S. News

This year VCU Medical Center ranked 46th in the nation for urology, while Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR) ranked 29^th in pediatric urology.

Conditions treated by the VCU Medical Center Division of Urology include:

• Urinary conditions
• Urologic cancer
• Kidney conditions
• Penis, scrotal, prostate and testicular conditions
• Reconstructive surgery, including pelvic reconstructive surgery
• Male infertility
• Andrology
• Pediatric urology
• Neurourology

The division has performed thousands of robotic surgeries. These and other minimally invasive procedures are associated with less pain, a shorter hospital stay and fewer complications.

With a commitment to serve our community, the division also provides urology services to veterans of the United States Uniformed Services — including robotic surgery — in partnership with Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center.

Additional rankings

Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU ranked among the nation’s top 50 children’s hospitals and was recognized for excellence in urology, pulmonology, nephrology and cancer.

VCU Medical Center was ranked as “high performing” in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure, as well as colon and lung cancer surgeries, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, geriatrics, nephrology and orthopedics. “High-performing” specialty areas are those ranked just outside the top 50.

Earlier this year, Becker’s Healthcare placed VCU Medical Center on its 2020 list of the 100 Great Hospitals in America. The Lown Hospitals Index, a new ranking that considers civic leadership and value of care in addition to patient outcomes, named VCU Medical Center one of the Top 50 Major Teaching Hospitals in America for 2020.

For more information, please see U.S. News & World Report, VCU Medical Center.