The 16 best hospitals in Georgia, according to US News

Emory University Hospital ranked No. 1 among Georgia hospitals for the eighth year in a row, according to the U.S. News & World Report 2019-2020 Best Hospitals Guide.

To determine the top Georgia hospitals, part of its "Best Regional Hospitals" breakdown, U.S. News analysts identified the institutions that were either nationally ranked in one of 16 specialties, had three or more high-performing ratings in a specialty or three or more ratings in the nine procedures and conditions. They also determined scores based on several factors, such as patient survival outcome, nurse staffing and more.

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All 4,653 community hospitals included in American Hospital Association’s fiscal year 2017 were automatically considered for ranking, though hospitals had to satisfy multiple requirements to be eligible in a given specialty, according to US News.

The 16 specialties included:

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And the nine procedures:

Any Honor Roll hospitals in a given region — those deemed the top 21 for high-performing procedure and condition ratings — automatically outranked the non-Honor Roll establishments. No Georgia hospital made that cut.

But Emory University Hospital in Atlanta nationally ranked in nine different adult specialties and was the top regionally ranked hospital in the state. The facility also boasts “very high” nurse staffing, a factor associated with better outcomes and better patient experience.

Of the nearly 175 hospitals in Georgia, 15 others met high standards in the 2019 ranking.

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Here are the 16 best hospitals in Georgia, according to U.S. News:

1. Emory University Hospital (Atlanta)

2. Emory St. Joseph's Hospital (Atlanta)

3. Piedmont Atlanta Hospital (Atlanta)

4. Northeast Georgia Medical Center (Gainesville)

5. (tie) Emory University Hospital Midtown (Atlanta)

5. (tie) Northside Hospital-Atlanta

5. (tie) WellStar Kennestone Hospital (Marietta)

8. Gwinnett Medical Center (Lawrenceville)

9. (tie) Memorial Health University Medical Center (Savannah)

9. (tie) Northside Hospital-Forsyth (Cumming)

9. (tie) University Hospital (Augusta)

12. (tie) Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center (Athens)

12. (tie) St. Joseph’s Hospital (Savannah)

14. Wellstar Cobb Hospital (Austell)

15. (tie) Navicent Health Medical Center (Macon)

15. (tie) St. Francis Hospital (Columbus)