(Photo: The Register)

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics once again is listed among the nation's elite hospitals and as the best in the state in the latest rankings released by U.S. News & World Report.

Seven specialties at UIHC were ranked in the publication's "Best Hospitals" edition for 2015-16, down from nine specialties last year. UIHC ranked No. 1 out of hospitals in Iowa.

"Iowans can be very proud of these rankings, which demonstrate yet again our faculty and staff are among the very best, not only in the nation, but also the world," Jean E. Robillard, vice president for medical affairs with UI Health Care, said in a news release.

The specialties that improved their rankings from last year include ophthalmology (up from eighth to seventh); ear, nose and throat (up from ninth to eighth); and orthopedics (up from 18th to 17th). Neurology and neurosurgery held steady between last year's and this year's rankings at 33rd.

The specialties in which the rankings fell include cancer, (down from 27th to 39th), gynecology (down from 15th to 29th) and urology (down from 33rd to 40th).

Two specialties that were included on the list last year — cardiology and heart surgery (No. 48) and nephrology (No. 40) — did not make the top 50 this year but were included in a list of five "high performing" specialties.

"(That) means they rank among the elite programs in the nation," UIHC spokesman Tom Moore wrote in an email. "Appearing anywhere in these rankings is a mark of high quality health care."

The three other specialties earning the high-performing distinction include gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics and pulmonology.

"These rankings demonstrate the commitment of our faculty and staff," Kenneth Kates, CEO of UIHC, said in the release. "All of them are focused on delivering outstanding care, excellent service and exceptional outcomes to each patient, every time they entrust us with their health care."

In its Best Children's Hospitals 2015-16 rankingearlier this year, U.S. News and World Report ranked nine specialty areas for the UI Children's Hospital, up from eight last year.

The list includes, cancer (No. 47, down from 42nd), cardiology and heart surgery (No. 30, up from 45th), diabetes and endocrinology (No. 26, up from 42nd), neonatology (No. 23, up from 30th), nephrology (No. 26, down from 20th), neurology and neurosurgery (No. 49, down from 26th), orthopedics (No. 45, down from 32nd) and pulmonology (No. 49, down from 46th). Urology, which was not on the list last year, ranked this year at No. 24.

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'Best Hospital' ranking

In its latest rankings of hospitals across the nation, U.S. News and World Report recently ranked the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in the following specialties:

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