The Johns Hopkins Hospital Tops U,S. News & World Report "HOnor Roll" 17th Year In A Row

The Johns Hopkins Hospital has again earned the top spot in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of American hospitals, placing first in four medical specialties and high in 11 others.

“Yet again, the magazine, along with medical specialists across the nation, has affirmed the excellence of our faculty physicians, our nurses and our staff,” said a joint letter announcing the good news from Edward D. Miller, M.D., dean and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Ronald R. Peterson, president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. “We say it each year and we mean it: This recognition is a tribute to them and to the community physicians whose contributions to Johns Hopkins Medicine are significant.”

Added Miller and Peterson, “Let us also be among the first to congratulate our sister institutions high on the list and say how proud we are to be among the best of the best.”

This year’s annual guide reports results of a survey of a hospital’s reputation among a national sample of board-certified specialty physicians, along with analysis of objective indicators including death rates, the availability of advanced services such as robotic surgery, patient services such as self-controlled pain relief and translators, cell transplants for cancer, state-certified trauma care, advanced technology, nurse staffing, service mix and discharge planning. Among some changes in the magazine’s rankings, Pediatrics ratings have been temporarily dropped, but Geriatrics was added back after a year’s absence.

In addition to landing at the overall #1 spot on the Honor Roll by accumulating 30 points in 15 specialties, The Johns Hopkins Hospital ranked #1 in Ear, Nose & Throat, Gynecology, Urology, and Rheumatology. The hospital ranked #2 in Geriatrics, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry; #3 in Cancer, Digestive Disorders, Endocrinology and Respiratory Disorders; #4 in Heart & Heart Surgery; #5 in Orthopedics; and #6 in Kidney Disease. For a detailed list of all the rankings, go to www.hopkinsmedicine.org or to the USN&WR Web site at www.usnews.com.

In their joint letter, Miller and Peterson reminded everyone in the Hopkins community that “this is especially welcome news as we continue our campus renewal and enrich our commitment to patient safety, diversity, innovation and the education of new generations of physicians and scientists.”

Miller and Peterson said Johns Hopkins knows that rankings “tell only part of a great hospital’s story” and that the decisions people make about their health care take many factors into consideration. But they noted that independent evaluations are of growing value to patients, the public, referring physicians and insurers.

Acknowledging the impressive record of winning 17 years in a row, Miller and Peterson again authorized the “Employee Thank You” celebration that has marked each year’s announcements.

Other hospitals rounding out the honor roll top 10 were Mayo Clinic, UCLA Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, Duke University Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco (tied with Duke), Barnes-Jewish Hospital at Washington University Medical Center, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital..