Baylor Plano Ranks Fourth in Dallas/Fort Worth area in U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals Metro Area Rankings

Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano has been ranked fourth in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals metro area rankings, available online at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/dallas-fort-worth-tx.

The new rankings recognize 720 hospitals in or near major cities with a record of high performance in key medical specialties. Each hospital is ranked among the top hospitals in at least one medical specialty and/or is ranked among the best hospitals in its metro area. There are nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide. Baylor Plano was ranked as high-performing in the specialties of orthopedics, pulmonology, urology, nephrology and geriatrics.

U.S. News created Best Hospitals more than 20 years ago to identify hospitals exceptionally skilled in handling the most difficult cases, such as brain tumors typically considered inoperable and delicate pancreatic procedures.

The metro area rankings are relevant to a much wider range of healthcare consumers. They are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital. Patients and their families will have a far better chance of finding a U.S. News-ranked hospital in their health insurance network and might not have to travel to get care at a high-performing hospital.

"We are so pleased that the quality care we provide to our patients each day has been recognized through this ranking,” says Jerri Garison, president, Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. "It is evidence of our dedication to provide advanced, quality care to the people we serve."

The core mission of Best Hospitals is to help guide patients who need an especially high level of care because of a difficult surgery, a challenging condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age.

"These are referral centers where other hospitals send their sickest, says U.S. News Health Rankings Editor Avery Comarow. "Hospitals like these are ones you or those close to you should consider when the stakes are high."

Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano is a 112-bed acute care hospital committed to serving North Texas residents with personalized care and advanced technology on a beautiful campus with hotel-like amenities and all private rooms. Services at the not-for-profit, fully-accredited facility include treatment for advanced spine deformities at the Baylor Scoliosis Center, neurosciences, orthopedics, medical and radiation oncology, surgical weight loss, women’s services, gynecology, urology, gastroenterology, pulmonary medicine, sleep disorders, pain management, diabetes management and more.

Patients have access to digital imaging onsite at Baylor Plano, Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano Elizabeth Jekot, M.D., Breast Imaging Center and at the Baylor Diagnostic Imaging Center at Craig Ranch, an outpatient department of Baylor Plano. The hospital is the first in North Dallas and Collin County to offer minimally invasive robotic surgery for procedures through the FDA-approved da Vinci® S Surgical System. Baylor Plano is a 2010 recipient of the Texas Award for Performance Excellence and houses an Accredited Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program by the American College of Surgeons Commissions on Cancer. Baylor Plano is the first hospital in Collin County to be accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. Jerri Garison is president of Baylor Plano. For more information, or a physician referral, call toll free 1-800-4-BAYLOR or log ontowww.BaylorHealth.com/Plano.

About Baylor Health Care System
Baylor Health Care System is a faith-based supporting organization providing services to a network of acute care hospitals and related health care entities that provide patient care, medical education, research and community service. Baylor recorded more than 2.6 million patient encounters, $3.8 billion in total operating revenue, $4.4 billion in total assets and $513.5 million in community benefit in fiscal year 2010. Baylor’s network of more than 260 access points includes 26 owned/operated/ ventured/affiliated hospitals, 23 joint ventured ambulatory surgical centers, 50 satellite outpatient locations, four senior centers and 156 HealthTexas physician clinics.

Physicians are members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Health Care System¹s subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and are neither employees nor agents of those medical centers, Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano or Baylor Health Care System.

CONTACT:
Kayci Prince
469-814-2109
KayciPri@baylorhealth.edu

Janeen Browning
469.814.2107
Janeen.Browning@baylorhealth.edu

About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient and affordable through its integrated delivery network, which includes the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform – MyBSWHealth. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,200 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White today serves more than three million Texans. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com