February 17, 2005

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Earns “Hospital of Choice” Award

(Philadelphia, PA) – The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) is one of only a few dozen in the nation to earn the “Hospital of Choice” Award for 2005 by The American Alliance of Healthcare Providers (AAHCP). The “Hospital of Choice” Awards were designed by the AAHCP to recognize hospitals that go beyond their walls in pursuit of excellence and quality care – hospitals that have developed a collaborative relationship with physicians and healthcare organizations in the community.

"We are pleased that the Alliance has recognized the clinical excellence and community commitment of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania," said Al Black, Chief Operating Officer at HUP. “We are proud of the high quality care that is provided by our dedicated doctors, nurses, and staff to the Philadelphia community and beyond.”

Founded in 1874 as the nation’s first teaching hospital, HUP is the flagship hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Health System – which also owns and operates Pennsylvania Hospital and Presbyterian Medical Center (both located in Philadelphia, PA). HUP is consistently honored for quality patient care, on both a local and national level. Among its many honors is U.S.News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals in America” ranking, where the institution has placed among the elite ‘Honor Roll’ recipients for eight consecutive years.

America's Choice Hospitals for 2005 were rated on the Alliance’s 10-point criteria in Professional Ethics, Standards of Conduct, Patient's Rights, Performance Management, Staff Development, and Communication Systems. Many of these hospitals, including HUP, also appeared on the U.S.News & World Report’s Honor Roll of American Hospitals and were recognized for their comprehensive excellence in many specialty areas.

“The hospitals selected for this honor must display a remarkable affinity toward quality care, customer satisfaction and community service,” explains AAHCP President R. Vincent Parr. “In short, we recognize hospitals that care about all their customers.”

The American Alliance of Healthcare Providers is a private stock corporation headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. AAHCP was founded in 1992 as the Eagle Club in Richmond, Virginia, with a group of 32 practitioners and healthcare managers. The Association was established to find practical, effective, and efficient ways to improve patient care in the American healthcare system by building systems of improvement that will help identify, measure, and monitor key indicators necessary for quality healthcare.

###

PENN Medicine is a $2.7 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System (created in 1993 as the nation’s first integrated academic health system).

Penn’s School of Medicine is ranked #3 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #4 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

Penn Health System is comprised of: its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, consistently rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll” hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; Presbyterian Medical Center; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home health care and hospice.

This release is available online at http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/feb05/HUPChoiceAwd.htm