University Medical Center (Tucson, Arizona)

University Medical Center, Tucson (UMC) is a private, non-profit 355-bed acute-care hospital in Tucson, Arizona. UMC is part of Arizona Health Sciences Center (AHSC), adjacent to the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Public Health in Tucson, Arizona. When founded in 1971, UMC was part of the University of Arizona. It is now a separate, non-profit organization although strong ties remain between the institutions.

Accreditation
UMC is accredited by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) and the Council of Teaching Hospitals.

UMC is a Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence, with its nurse-to-patient ratio set at 1:4. The hospital specializes in numerous categories (see Best Hospital listings below) including cardiothoracic and multidisciplinary transplant programs and the artificial heart, which is used as a bridge-to-transplant for patients awaiting a suitable organ. UMC blood and marrow transplant programs are among the best in the Southwest.

Notable services
AHSC has several nationally recognized Centers of Excellence:
 * Arizona Arthritis Center
 * Arizona Cancer Center
 * Arizona Center on Aging
 * Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center
 * Arizona Prevention Center
 * Arizona Respiratory Center
 * Steele Children's Research Center
 * The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center
 * Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis)

Among the physicians credentialed at UMC is Dr. Andrew Weil and his Program in Integrative Medicine, located on UMC's 6th floor. Adjacent and interrelated to UMC is the Arizona Cancer Center, an NCI cancer research and treatment facility.

Besides the hospital, UMC operates two hospital-based physician offices in Tucson, one hospital-based physician office in Green Valley, Arizona, and one medical transplant physician office in Phoenix (for pre- and post-transplant patients).

Awards
As it was in 2005, University Medical Center, Tucson is again one of Solucient's Top 100 Hospitals for 2006.

UMC Tucson has been listed as one of the United States' best hospitals in four specialties, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 18th annual guide to "America’s Best Hospitals, July 2007."
 * Cancer
 * Heart
 * Respiratory disorders
 * Geriatrics

HealthGrades, Inc, a healthcare rating company, found UMC to be one of the best hospitals in:
 * 2007 and 2006 Cardiac Care Excellence Award™
 * 2007 Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award™