National Jewish Health Top Respiratory Hospital in 2010

For the 13th consecutive year, National Jewish Health has been named the #1 respiratory hospital in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

"We are gratified to receive this honor once again," said Michael Salem, MD, President and CEO of National Jewish Health. "It is a testimony to our outstanding faculty and staff that they are able to maintain such a high standard of excellence to earn this ranking year after year."

As part of the ranking, board-certified pulmonologists around the country named National Jewish Health more often than any other hospital when asked about the best respiratory hospitals in the nation. In addition to recognition by pulmonologists, the hospital rankings were based upon various care-related factors, such as nursing and patient services. Rankings are available at usnews.com.

National Jewish Health is known worldwide for treatment of patients with respiratory, cardiac, immune and related disorders, and for groundbreaking medical research. Founded in 1899 as a nonprofit hospital, National Jewish Health remains the only facility in the world dedicated exclusively to these disorders. Approximately 30 percent of patients come to National Jewish Health from beyond its home state of Colorado.

In recent years, National Jewish Health has added several new service lines to better serve its patients. In April, National Jewish Health opened its Lung Cancer Center, which draws on existing strengths in thoracic medicine including the Institute for Advanced Biomedical Imaging®, interventional pulmonology and pathology. National Jewish Health also added gastroenterology, cardiology, otolaryngology and its Minimally Invasive Diagnostic Center in recent years.

"These new services lines allow us to better serve the needs of our patients from around the world and to provide the coordinated care that is a hallmark of patient care at National Jewish Health," said Dr. Salem.

National Jewish Health physician/researchers participate in numerous National Institutes of Health studies that evaluate new and existing treatments for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, allergies and other diseases. They also serve on several NIH advisory boards that write guidelines for treatment of respiratory and allergic diseases. The basic research program at National Jewish Health has also been ranked among the world's best.