The University of Colorado Hospital's Banner 2010

In October UCH was cited as one of the top 10 academic medical centers in the country based on quality, patient safety and patient satisfaction, by the University HealthSystem Consortium. UCH was ranked as the 8th best-performing academic hospital nationwide in 2010, a significant improvement from its 28th spot in 2009. The top ten showing comes after several years of deliberate focus on clinical improvements.

In its annual "Top Docs" issue, 5280: Denver's Magazine named 64 UCH physicians in 47 specialties as doctors who other doctors said they would choose to treat them and their families.

Here's the list.

UCH is among the first hospitals in the United States to receive national accreditation of its post-baccalaureate nurse residency program, in which graduate nurses develop advanced clinical judgment and learn safe, quality care.

University of Colorado Hospital announces its plans to add a second inpatient tower to meet what has become an enormous demand for its services. At a cost of about $400 million, the project brings more patient beds, more emergency care and more jobs to the Anschutz Medical Campus and to Colorado.

Find out more about this ambitious project.

For the third consecutive time, University of Colorado Hospital received international recognition for excellence in nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®. Of the 362 Magnet hospitals in the U.S., fewer than 30, including UCH, have been recognized three times for nursing excellence.

University of Colorado Hospital was ranked in four specialties in U.S. News & World Report's 2010-11 Best Hospitals issue. UCH is the only hospital in the state of Colorado to rank in multiple specialties.

University of Colorado Hospital Foundation announced a campaign to raise $20 million for the expansion of the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Since the University of Colorado Hospital’s clinical services for cancer relocated to the Anschutz Medical Campus in November 2000, demand has nearly doubled.

In a sequenced rollout starting February 1, 2011, University of Colorado Hospital's many clinics and practices will go live with "Epic," a medical information system that will integrate what has been an array of separate systems.

University of Colorado Hospital continues its valuable partnership with the University of Colorado Cancer Center. The Center’s new leader, Dr. Dan Theodorescu, has a vision to reinvent how cancer research is done in Colorado. Our physicians and researchers are ready to support those efforts to improve the lives of cancer survivors.

In December, The Denver Post named UCH President and CEO Bruce Schroffel its "Business Person of the Year" for 2010. According to the Post, "Schroffel has elevated the hospital's reputation . . . to a highly respected institution that serves both insured and uninsured patients." Read the full story at DenverPost.com (photo courtesy Denver Post).