Gainesville residents don't have to travel far to find some of the best medical services in the country, according to a news magazine's recent rankings.
Shands at UF ranked among America's top 50 hospitals in 11 specialty categories, according to a U.S. News & World Report study released Monday.
Only 170 of the nation's hospitals were ranked in 16 specialty categories, which included areas such as cancer care and psychiatry.
Shands at UF placed in more categories than any other hospital in Florida.
It outperformed all other Florida hospitals in categories such as endocrinology, elderly care, heart care and heart surgery, respiratory care and urology.
For each category, 200 physicians were randomly chosen to list five hospitals they considered the best.
Most rankings were based on a combination of the hospital's reputation, death rate and care-related factors, such as nursing and patient services.
Hospitals were evaluated on their abilities to deal with difficult cases and perform non-routine procedures.
Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md., ranked first overall, followed by the Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minn., and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Georgiann Ellis, Shands vice president of operations, said she believes the hospital can eventually join the ranks of those top-notch hospitals.
"We clearly have the leadership that can lead us to that position of national recognition," Ellis said.
The heart care and heart surgery program jumped from 35th in 2007 to 24th in this year's rankings.
"It's a pretty good neighborhood to be in," said Curtis Tribble, chief of the Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
Last year, Shands received national recognition in seven specialty categories. This year, cancer care, endocrinology, neurology and orthopedics joined the list.
The orthopedics program, which had not been ranked since 2004, came in at No. 36 in this year's rankings.
Peter Gearen, chairman of UF's Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, said the department is less focused on rankings and more focused on making gradual improvements.
"We just try incrementally to get better at everything we do," Gearen said. "Apparently, we've done that in their eyes."
