NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Southcoast Health announced today that it has been named among the best in the region by U.S. News & World Report. The magazine’s annual “Best Hospitals” rankings recognize hospitals in the United States that provide the best overall patient care as well as specialized treatment in areas like surgery and cardiovascular services.

Southcoast Health, which consists of St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River and Tobey Hospital in Wareham, was ranked among the best hospitals in Massachusetts (No. 9) and Providence metro area (No. 2).

Southcoast Health also received a High Performing ranking for specialty care in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Colon Cancer Surgery and Heart Failure.

For the 2017-18 rankings, U.S. News & World Report evaluated more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide in 25 specialties, procedures and conditions. In the 16 specialty areas, only 146 hospitals (just over 3 percent) were ranked in at least one specialty. In rankings by state and metro area, the magazine recognized hospitals as high performing across multiple areas of care. The methodologies include risk-adjusted survival and readmission rates, volume, patient experience, patient safety, quality of nursing care and other care-related indicators. The rankings are produced by U.S. News & World Report with RTI International, a top research firm based in North Carolina.

The rankings appeared in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals 2018 guidebook, and is available online at https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals.