Johns Hopkins Named #1 Hospital for the 15th Consecutive Year by US News & World Report.

For the 15th consecutive year, The Johns Hopkins Hospital has topped U.S. News & World Report's rankings of American hospitals. Of the 176 medical centers in this year's edition of America's Best Hospitals, 16 made their way to the Honor Roll. All had to demonstrate excellence by achieving a high ranking in no fewer than six specialties. US News & World Report ranks the centers based on an analysis of objective indicators such as death rates, technology, nurse staffing, service mix and discharge planning.

Hopkins ranked in the top 10 in 16 of the 17 specialty categories listed. In addition to landing at the top of the honor roll, the Hospital ranked #1 in Gynecology, Otolaryngology, Kidney Diseases, Rheumatology and Urology; #2 in Geriatrics, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Ophthalmology; #3 in Cancer, Digestive Disorders, Hormonal Disorders, Heart/Heart Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Respiratory Disorders; #4 in Orthopedics; #14 in Rehabilitation 

Responding to the U.S. News announcement today, Steve Thompson, Senior Vice President of Johns Hopkins Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine International said: "We are very pleased with this year's results. I am proud of this recognition of  the excellence of our dedicated faculty physicians, researchers, nurses and clinical staff who every day support Hopkins' tradition of innovation and compassionate care."  Thompson added that increasingly, patients, physicians and insurance companies around the world are looking more closely at such measures of quality and value in healthcare. 

About Johns Hopkins Medicine International

Johns Hopkins Medicine International is the unit within Johns Hopkins Medicine that facilitates the transfer of knowledge from Johns Hopkins in patient care, research, and medical education to institutions and physicians around the world. Johns Hopkins also provides technical assistance to governments and private hospitals on how to improve the quality and efficiency of hospitals.

Johns Hopkins Medicine is also the nation's top recipient of research funds from the National Institutes of Health, receiving more than $600 million in federal funds in 2004 to support one of the country's largest biomedical research programs.  Its physicians, who are also researchers and educators, have been honored with the Nobel Prize, the Lasker Award, the National Medal of Science and other prestigious awards for their achievements in advancing medical knowledge and patient care.

To interview Steve Thompson about the rankings, contact Claudia Costabile at 443-287-6052, ccostab1@jhmi.edu.  For the rankings, www.USNews.com.