As someone who has spent his entire career leading physicians and healthcare companies, Michael Duncan has been to an inordinate number of hospitals in a professional capacity.

None, he says, are quite like Chester County Hospital.

“The culture is unique,” said Duncan, the president and chief executive officer of Chester County Hospital. “I’ve been in hospitals all over the country, and I’ve never seen one like Chester Country.

“Our entire staff really views every patient as someone’s loved one. So everyone who comes to us is treated like family.”

Which is why Chester County Hospital’s recent recognition by U.S. News & World Report is well deserved.

The web-based media company recently released its 2016 rankings of the best hospitals, and Chester County, a member of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, checked in at sixth in the Philadelphia Metro region and 12th in the state.

“The hospital has consistently done well in the past in those rankings, but we seem to be rising lately,” said Duncan, the former Executive Director of ColumbiaDoctors, a 1200-physician faculty practice plan at the Ivy League school in New York City. “Having Penn Medicine as peers to learn from has helped us a tremendous amount.

“We’ve had a very consistent management team, too. Our whole management team was hired by my predecessor (H.L. Perry Pepper).”

The U.S. News & World Report honor comes on the heels of Chester County Hospital’s five-star rating by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. It was among the top two percent of hospitals nationwide to receive such distinction.

Chester County Hospital, which has 243 beds, became part of Penn Medicine – one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care – in 2013.

Out of nearly 5,000 hospitals analyzed nationwide, Penn Medicine is among only 20 institutions – and the only one in the Philadelphia region – to be named to U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll.

The Honor Roll label “signals both rare breadth and rare depth of medical excellence,” with each Penn Medicine hospital performing near the top of the rankings in at least a half-dozen specialty areas.

Chester County Hospital was considered high-performing in geriatrics, nephrology, pulmonology, and urology.

“Everyone who shows up at the bedside of a patient – the nurses, techs, housekeepers, food-service workers – deserves credit,” said Duncan. “They’re all responsible for lessening the emotional turmoil for patients and their families. They help the healing process during times of high anxiety.”

Duncan was quick to note Chester County Hospital’s status as Magnet, an elite designation given by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center to hospitals that satisfy a set of criteria designed to measure the strength and quality of their nursing.

“Angela Coladonato, the Chief Nursing Officer here for the last 10 years, does a great job of coordinating the continuing education of our nurses,” he said.

The annual Best Hospitals rankings, now in its 27th year, recognize hospitals for their exceptional performance, based on outstanding quality, expertise, technology, and experience. Complete rankings, as well as the U.S. News & World Report methodology, can be found by clicking here.