LEWISTON — Of the three hospitals in Maine evaluated for cancer care by U. S. News & World Report, Central Maine Medical Center received the highest score.

The national media company gave CMMC a score of 26.3 out of 100. Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor received a score of 26.1. Maine Medical Center in Portland received a score of 25.

Hospitals are chosen to be evaluated when they meet specific criteria, including the size of the hospital, the number of patients treated, and the experience in that specialty. This year, 899 hospitals were evaluated and scored.

Cancer scores are based on patient outcomes, volume of high-risk patients, patient experience, nurse staffing and advanced clinical technologies.

Within the 899 hospitals evaluated, U.S. News and World Report gave a ranking to the top 50 cancer hospitals in the country. Those 50 received scores ranging from 51.8 to 100. Hospitals considered “high performing” received scores ranging from 45.5 to 51.4.

Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis for U.S. News & World Report, said the differences in cancer scores for the three Maine hospitals were small and likely “not all that meaningful” when comparing the three.

“Just getting a score is a sign a hospital has some degree of expertise,” he said.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.