July 16, 2024
West Columbia, S.C. – U.S. News & World Report has named Lexington Medical Center as the best hospital in the Columbia Metro area for the third consecutive year.
“We are proud of our outstanding physicians, nurses, clinicians and staff who continue to provide exceptional care to meet the needs of our communities. Being recognized as Best Hospital by U.S. News & World Report for the third year in a row shows our continued commitment to delivering advanced medicine for the well-being of our patients and their families,” said Tod Augsburger, president and CEO. “Achieving this prestigious ranking shows the hard work and dedication our team has to taking care of our friends, families and neighbors here in the Midlands.”
U.S. News & World Report also ranked Lexington Medical Center as high performing in treating the following adult procedures and conditions:
• Back surgery (spinal fusion)
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Colon cancer surgery
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Hip replacement
• Knee replacement
• Leukemia, lymphoma & myeloma
• Pneumonia
• Prostate cancer surgery
For the 2024-2025 rankings and ratings, U.S. News evaluated nearly 5,000 hospitals across 15 specialties and 20 procedures and conditions; only 11% of evaluated hospitals earned a Best Hospitals ranking. Hospitals awarded a “Best” designation excelled at factors such as clinical outcomes, level of nursing care and patient experience.
“For 35 years, U.S. News has been a leading resource for patients navigating their health care decisions,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. “A 'Best Hospital' recognition empowers patients to seek out medical care from the best of the best to treat their illness or condition.”
To calculate the Best Hospitals rankings, U.S. News evaluated each hospital’s performance on objective measures such as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications and level of nursing care. The Best Hospitals Specialty rankings methodology and Procedures & Conditions ratings methodology measure patient outcomes using data from millions of records provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This year, among other methodology refinements, U.S. News incorporated new data on care provided to patients with Medicare Advantage insurance and on care provided to outpatients, nearly doubling the number of patients included in its annual data analysis.
The annual Best Hospitals rankings and ratings are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive quality care for challenging health conditions or elective procedures.
Lexington Health is a comprehensive network of care that includes six community medical and urgent care centers, nearly 80 physician practices, more than 9,000 health care professionals and Lexington Medical Center, a 607-bed teaching hospital in West Columbia, South Carolina. The hospital was ranked best hospital in the Columbia Metro by U.S. News & World Report, was selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare, and was the first hospital in the state to achieve Magnet with Distinction status for excellence in nursing care. Lexington Health Cancer Center is an accredited Cancer Center of Excellence. The network includes a cardiovascular program recognized by the American College of Cardiology as South Carolina's first HeartCARE Center. The network also has an occupational health center, the largest skilled nursing facility in the Carolinas, an Alzheimer's care center and nearly 80 physician practices. Lexington Medical Center operates one of the busiest Emergency departments in South Carolina, treating nearly 100,000 patients each year. The hospital delivers more than 4,000 babies each year and performs more than 25,000 surgeries.
