Vidant Medical Center is one of the best hospitals for 2013-14 in North Carolina, according to a ranking by U.S. News & World Report.

Vidant Medical Center is ranked 16^th in North Carolina and recognized among the best hospitals in the state’s coastal plain.

The annual Best Hospitals rankings, now in their 24^th year, recognize hospitals that excel in treating the most challenging patients.

“We are pleased to be listed by U.S. News as a ‘best hospital,’” said Steve Lawler, president of Vidant Medical Center. “We are committed to providing best-in-class care and best-in-class experience to the people and communities we are so privileged to care for and serve. This ‘best hospital’ status is without question the result of the excellent work of our health care team — our superb medical staff and employees.”

Vidant Medical Center also is singled out for recognition of four areas of medical specialty:

 • gynecology, dealing with the diseases and routine physical care of the reproductive system of women;

• nephrology, the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases;

• pulmonology, dealing with diseases involving the respiratory tract;  

• urology, which focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females and on the reproductive system of males.

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.”

U.S. News publishes Best Hospitals to help guide patients who need a high level of care because they face particularly difficult surgery, a challenging condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age. Objective measures such as patient survival and safety data, the adequacy of nurse staffing levels and other data largely determined the rankings in most specialties.

The specialty rankings and data were produced for U.S. News by RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. 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 in bookstores and on newsstands Aug. 27.