JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL: THE NATION'S BEST For the fourth consecutive year, The Johns Hopkins Hospital has been rated best in the nation in _U.S. News and World Report's_ annual survey of American hospitals. The magazine's 1994 guide to America's best hospitals measured facilities' reputations in 16 medical specialties among a sample of 2,400 board-certified physicians. The hospitals were also measured in categories including discharge planning, death rates, technology and nurse-to-bed ratios. Hopkins ranked in the top 10 in 15 of the 16 specialties. "We're obviously pleased. This is a wonderful tribute to this hospital, its incredibly fine staff, to the Hopkins School of Medicine physicians and staff, and to the physicians in our community who refer patients to us every day and with whom we have such close ties," said James A. Block, president and CEO of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. "Most of all, the accolades affirm our assurances of quality care to our patients, and that's what we're here for." Conducted by the magazine in conjunction with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, an independent polling firm, the survey ranked Hopkins among the top 10 hospitals in AIDS, cancer, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, geriatrics, gynecology, neurology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, rheumatology, urology, ophthalmology, pediatrics and psychiatry. Hopkins ranked first in gynecology.