CHICAGO, IL (August 2, 2012) – Swedish Covenant Hospital has been ranked as the safest hospital in the city of Chicago and publicly recognized as a center of excellence in a range of medical specialties, complementing its ranking as the 16th best hospital in the State of Illinois, according to U.S. News & World Reports magazine.

The hospital, operated by Covenant Ministries of Benevolence on behalf of the Evangelical Covenant Church, has been undergoing a significant expansion and rehabilitation of facilities and broadening of medical services.

The new Foster Medical Pavilion – the newest medical building and parking garage at the corner of Foster and California avenues – is now open. The LEED-certified building houses a new Pain Management center, offices for Swedish Covenant Medical Group and other physician practices, a new Ambulatory Surgical Center, the Foster Medical Pavilion pharmacy, and Modern Optical. Au Bon Pain is expected to open in November.

The public recognitions of excellence have come from a variety of publications, ranking agencies and accrediting organizations:

U.S. News & World Reports magazine ranked Swedish Covenant Hospital as the fifteenth best hospital in Chicago and the sixteenth best hospital in Illinois. “With 121 eligible hospitals in Chicago and more than 220 in the state, we are very proud of this ranking,” says CEO Mark Newton. “We were specifically recognized for our high performance in eight specialties: cancer care, gastroenterology, geriatrics, gynecology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, pulmonology and urology. Additionally, 18 physicians serving Swedish Covenant Hospital were included in the U.S. News Top Doctors list.
Consumer Reports ranked Swedish Covenant Hospital as the safest hospital in Chicago, achieving a score of 60 out of 100 points based on a variety of safety measures. Swedish Covenant ranks among the top 10 safest hospitals in the state.
The Leapfrog Group, a national leader in hospital transparency, recently presented the hospital with an “A” grade for safety. “We are one of just 729 hospitals in the nation that received this grade,” Newton points out.
United Health Care designated Swedish Covenant Hospital a premium specialty center for Interventional Cardiac Care and Cardiac Surgery.
The American College of Radiology recently named Swedish Covenant Hospital as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, one of only five Breast Imaging Centers of Excellence in Chicago.
The Chicago Reader’s recent “Best of” list included Galter LifeCenter as the top gym in Chicago. Galter LifeCenter’s Pilates Studio was named runner-up best Pilates studio in Chicago.

“These accolades collectively reveal what we have known all along: Swedish Covenant Hospital is the leading independent hospital in Chicago,” Newton said in commending all of the hardworking staff in all areas of the hospital for achieving such levels of excellence.

“These are not just feathers in the cap of our organization,” Newton adds. “Positive regional and national rankings reflect positively on the entire surrounding community and all our supporters. We genuinely appreciate all of the continued support for Swedish Covenant Hospital. I invite everyone to join us as we celebrate these achievements and continue to support us as we work to surpass our benchmarks for quality, patient satisfaction, safety and excellence every year.”