Galveston, Texas – The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has been named to the IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list. Specifically, UTMB ranked in the top 15 nationwide among major teaching hospitals on the list.
IBM Watson Health recognizes hospitals of all sizes in five different categories – major teaching hospitals, large community hospitals, medium community hospitals and smaller community hospitals.
UTMB was the only teaching hospital in the Houston area recognized and one of only three in Texas.
The list, issued annually, was established to help identify top performance benchmarks that may help other health care organizations achieve consistent, balanced, sustainable high performance.
IBM Watson praises the hospitals on the list for operations and efficiency and noted that if all health care facilities followed their lead it would save 106,000 lives and reduce health care costs by $8.3 billion.
“It means a great deal to UTMB that we have been recognized as a top teaching hospital,” said Dr. Gulshan Sharma, vice president and chief medical and clinical innovation officer. “As an academic medical center, we treat seriously ill patients who often require complex care. We could not have achieved this without an incredible team that is dedicated to delivering quality care.”
According to the IBM Watson website, the 100 Top Hospitals list is determined using independent and objective research to analyze hospital performance. Organizations do not apply or pay for this honor or pay to promote their award. Award-winning hospitals and health systems serve as a model of excellence for the industry.
Tim Harlin, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the UTMB Health System, said the award means even more during this time when all health care systems are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are proud to be the only teaching hospital in the region to achieve this recognition,” said Harlin. “It shows UTMB’s commitment to continue providing high-quality care to the community we serve, even during these challenging times.”
To determine the hospitals included on the IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list, IBM Watson Health researchers evaluated 3,134 short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals.”