July 20, 2009
JHH tops ‘U.S. News’ Honor Roll for 19th year in a row
The Johns Hopkins Hospital has once again—for the 19th consecutive time—earned the top spot in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of more than 4,800 American hospitals, placing first in three medical specialties and in the top 16 in 13 others.
“While we’ve become happily accustomed to saying so, it remains true that this is a well-earned tribute to Hopkins Hospital’s wonderful nurses and staff, the School of Medicine’s faculty physicians, our residents and fellows, and the many community physicians with whom we have close ties,” said a joint letter of congratulations to all employees from Edward D. Miller, dean and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Ronald R. Peterson, president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System.
Of the 4,861 hospitals analyzed for the magazine’s Best Hospital list, only 21 made it to the Honor Roll topped by Hopkins. The rankings are based on high scores in at least six of 16 ranked specialties and a “unique breadth of excellence,” the magazine says.
Looking forward, Miller and Peterson said the news is “perhaps especially welcome this year as we watch the final stages of our campus renewal take form, intensify our commitment to patient safety, innovation, diversity and community, expand the membership of Johns Hopkins Medicine and address the challenges of delivering the best care more effectively and efficiently.”
Miller and Peterson have long supported the public’s interest in learning more about their health care, and in independent evaluations, or “report cards,” of health care outcomes.
“We applaud sincere efforts to assess safety, outcomes and service at institutions like ours, and we trust that as these efforts improve over time they will be of even more use in informing the medical community, patients and insurers,” they said.
This year’s ranking guide reports results using a survey of a hospital’s reputation among a national sample of board-certified specialty physicians. It also analyzes objective indicators, including death rates, patient safety, nurse staffing and designation as a national nurse “Magnet” hospital, advanced technologies such as robotic surgery, state certification as an advanced trauma center, patient services such as genetic testing and geriatric care, designation as a National Cancer Institute cancer center, the availability of specialized care in Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy, and the availability of advanced cell therapies for cancer.
In addition to landing at the overall No. 1 spot on the Honor Roll by accumulating 30 points in 15 specialties, The Johns Hopkins Hospital ranked No. 1 in Ear, Nose and Throat, Rheumatology and Urology; No. 2 in Geriatric Care, Gynecology, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry; and No. 3 in Cancer, Diabetes and Endocrine Disorders, Digestive Disorders, Heart and Heart Surgery and Respiratory Disorders. The hospital ranked No. 5 in Orthopedics, No. 6 in Kidney Disorders and No. 16 in Rehabilitation Medicine.