New York, NY ― Jacobi Medical Center and Harlem Hospital Center– members of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) – made the top regional rankings in the annual Best Hospitals rankings by U.S. News & World Report and were listed among the top 50 of 720 hospitals that are high-performing in one or more categories.

Jacobi and Harlem hospitals are tied in the rankings, released today, both listed at #39 in New York State and #49 in the New York metropolitan area. Both also were recognized as “High Performing” in the specialty of Nephrology, the diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease. This is the third time Jacobi Hospital has made the U.S. News rankings in as many years, while it’s the first time Harlem Hospital has made the list.

"Congratulations to Jacobi and Harlem for achieving this recognition. The high-quality care and compassionate, skilled medical professionals and staff at these two hospitals represent the level of quality and commitment to patient-centered care that exists across our organization and in every single one of our facilities," said Antonio D. Martin, HHC Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

“This recognition is further evidence of the world-class experience provided by Jacobi Medical Center,” said Jacobi Executive Vice President William P. Walsh. “When patients enter our doors, they can count on our experienced medical team to provide the best and safest care possible.”

“Harlem Hospital Center is honored to receive this great recognition,” said Denise C. Soares RN, MA, HHC Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Harlem Hospital. “We have been actively involved in continuous performance improvement activities. We are proud of our strong performance across many areas of quality and patient safety and remain committed to providing high-quality healthcare to the Harlem community and all New Yorkers that we serve.”

This year’s Best Hospitals, the 24th annual edition, showcases more than 720 of the nation’s roughly 5,000 hospitals. U.S. News evaluates hospitals in 16 adult specialties. In most specialties, it ranks the nation’s top 50 hospitals and recognizes other high-performing hospitals that provide care at nearly the level of their nationally ranked peers.

“A hospital that emerges from our analysis as one of the best has much to be proud of,” said Avery Comarow, U.S. News Health Rankings Editor. “Only about 15 percent of hospitals are recognized for their high performance as among their region’s best. Just 3 percent of all hospitals earn a national ranking in any specialty.”

The specialty rankings and data were produced for U.S. News by RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Using the same data, U.S. News produced the state and metro rankings.

The rankings have been published at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals and will appear in print in the U.S. News Best Hospitals 2014 guidebook, available August 27.

About Harlem Hospital Center

Harlem Hospital Center is a 286-bed hospital that provides a broad array of preventive, primary and acute care services including general medicine and medical subspecialties, general surgery and surgical subspecialties, infectious diseases, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and neonatology, critical care, imaging, radiology and nuclear medicine, rehabilitation medicine, psychiatry and substance abuse services, dental and oral surgery, physical, speech and occupational therapies. We are an Area-Wide Burn Center and Level I Trauma, with Centers of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery, Breast Imaging and Sexual Assault Forensics, a designated Stroke and AIDS Center, a World Health Organization’s UNICEF Designated Baby Friendly Hospital and a member of America’s Essential Hospitals Safety Net Hospitals. Harlem Hospital Center is part of the Generations+/Northern Manhattan Health Network and is operated by the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/harlem/html/home/home.shtml or call (212) 939-1000.