St. Joseph’s Health Hospital president discusses the hospital’s No. 1 ranking in the Syracuse region by U.S. News & World Report
By Mary Beth Roach
St. Joseph’s Health Hospital was recently named the No. 1 regional hospital in Syracuse by U.S. News & World Report and ranked No. 24 in the state on its list of 2026-27 Best Hospitals. President Meredith Price talks about what these designations mean to the hospital.
Q: What does the term “regional hospital” mean?
A: Regional hospital is a term that is used that demonstrates the larger geographic region that the hospital covers. It also speaks to the broader range of services that are provided by the hospital. For example, St. Joseph specifically serves 16 counties and offers what would be considered more specialized services, such as cardiology, cardiac surgery, neurology and stroke care to name a few. Often, community hospitals will transfer patients to a regional hospital when a higher level of care is needed.
Q: What does it mean for the hospital to receive the U.S. News & World Report designation?
A: First and foremost, it independently validates the quality of care and excellence that’s delivered at the hospital, with the focus on patient outcomes, overall clinical performance and safety. It encourages us to continue to strive at that level, perform at that level and look for ways that we can continuously improve.
Q: There were eight areas of the hospital that were included in the report. What are those areas and what do you think makes them stand out?
A: The eight areas include leukemia, lymphoma and melanoma; colorectal or colon cancer surgery; prostate cancer surgery; heart arrhythmia; aortic valve surgery; heart bypass surgery; maternity care for uncomplicated pregnancies; and hip replacement. We are recognized as high performance in cardiovascular care as a result of some of our outcomes. We demonstrate low mortality rates, fewer complications. Our clinical teams are extremely experienced and advanced. What really also stands out is the advanced technology that we use, as it relates to cardiovascular care. We perform robot-assisted cardiac surgery, which is unique and definitely successful. Our cancer services stand out because of clinical outcomes. Cancer care requires multidisciplinary collaboration among physicians, which is not always easy, but I think we do it very well. We adhere to what would be considered evidence-based protocols, which leads to lower complication rates. From the maternity care perspective, [we show] really strong outcomes for mothers and newborns, lower rates of complication and that coordination of care again is something that we strive for both preterm, during the pregnancy at delivery and then postpartum. We have consistently had strong outcomes as it relates to our orthopedic program from surgical quality, low infection rates, access to therapies and rehab services, post-op and a focus on patient-centered care.
Q: Does this ranking translate directly or indirectly to more grant funding, research funding? Does it give you any advantage?
A: There is nothing directly because we’ve gotten this designation. But what it does is it validates the strength of our programs. It allows our community to hear of this; it improves our overall brand and reputation in the market, as we work continually to recruit physicians and retain physicians and staff. I think it helps have St. Joseph’s on the map. Lastly, it helps to increase patients’ perception of St. Joseph’s. When we’re looking for providers or patients to either be referred to or refer themselves to a place for strong care.