University of Washington Medical Center (Seattle). UW Medical Center was one of the smallest teaching hospitals in the country when it opened in 1959. It was the first hospital in the nation to earn Magnet recognition for excellence in nursing and has earned the award every four years since. U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital the No. 1 in Washington for 2016-17 and UW Medical Center earned a five-star rating from CMS and an A grade from Leapfrog for safety in 2016. The medical center specializes in cancer care, cardiology, orthopedics, organ transplantation, otolaryngology, diagnostic imaging and neonatal intensive care. It also is affiliated with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Children’s.
