University of Washington Medical Center (Seattle). In 1959, University of Washington Medical Center opened as University Hospital, one of the country's smallest teaching hospitals at the time. However, UW Medical Center now sits as the flagship of UW Medicine, one of the most influential academic health systems in the Northwest.
UW Medical Center is the top hospital in Washington, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2013-14 rankings, and it is among the top 50 in the nation for 10 specialties. Within those, UW Medical Center is among the top 10 for rehabilitation (4), cancer (7) and diabetes and endocrinology (8). In 1994, the 450-bed hospital became the nation's first Magnet facility for nursing care excellence, and it has continued to earn that designation every four years since then. Practice Greenhealth has also named UW Medical Center one of the top environmental healthcare organizations in the nation.
More than 4,300 employees and 1,800 physicians work at UW Medical Center. The physicians, who are also UW School of Medicine faculty members, have contributed to some of the biggest medical firsts in the country. Belding Scriber, MD, who was a UW faculty member, invented the Scriber shunt, which allowed patients to go through long-term kidney dialysis, and UW physicians also established the world's first multidisciplinary pain center. Currently, the faculty includes three Nobel Prize winners, 35 Institute of Medicine members and 32 National Academy of Sciences members.
 |
 |