The following is a release from EvergreenHealth:

For the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report recognized EvergreenHealth as one of the top health care organizations in the region for its exceptional clinical care. The publication’s 2015-16 rankings name the Kirkland-based health system the No. 3 hospital in the Seattle metro area and No. 4 hospital in Washington State.

“We do not set out to earn these types of recognitions, rather our focus is always on our patients and providing the very best care,” said EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte. “Using national best practices and our hallmark EvergreenHealth experience, we strive to create an environment that safeguards the health and well-being of those who trust us with their care. And then we must ask ourselves, ‘how do we get even better?’ so that we can keep earning that trust through exceptional service and the safest, highest quality care.”

U.S. News & World Report recognizes hospitals that excel in providing the best care for the most serious or complicated medical conditions and procedures. In addition to the Best Regional Hospitals list, U.S. Newsacknowledged EvergreenHealth for high performance in gastroenterology and GI surgery, as well for performance in the procedural areas of hip replacement, knee replacement and heart failure.

Its annual “Best Hospitals” rankings, now in its 26th year, help guide patients who need a high level of care because they face particularly difficult surgery, a challenging condition or added risk because of other health problems or age.

“Patients deserve high-quality information on hospitals,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News. “We strive to provide them with the most comprehensive data available so they can make more informed decisions together with their doctor about where to undergo treatment.”

“We continue to push forward health care transparency for the benefit of our patients,” said Malte. “Whether it is our personalized cost estimate service launched last year, or quality ratings based on nationally reported data, we support efforts to provide patients with information in advance of treatment or care, so they can decide which provider or health system is best for their needs.”

The specialty rankings and data were produced for U.S. News by RTI International, a leading research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. U.S. News used both the specialty rankings and its recently published Best Hospitals for Common Care ratings to produce the Best Regional Hospitals list.

The Best Hospitals methodology measures patient volume, risk-adjusted survival rates and adequacy of nurse staffing, among other care-related indicators. U.S. News further expanded the number of physicians surveyed for the 2015-16 rankings.

The U.S. News rankings have been published at http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals, will appear in print in theU.S. News Best Hospitals 2016 guidebook and will be available at bookstores and newsstands in August.

For more information about EvergreenHealth, visit www.evergreenhealth.com.