JHH tops "U.S. News" honor roll for 17th year in a row

For the 17th year in a row, the Johns Hopkins Hospital has earned the top spot in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of American hospitals, placing first this year 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 from Edward D. Miller, dean and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Ronald R. Peterson, president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, announcing the good news. "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."

The 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, availability of advanced services such as robotic surgery, patient services such as self-controlled pain relief, cell transplants for cancer and state-certified trauma care.

In addition to landing at the overall No. 1 spot, JHH ranked No. 1 in Ear, Nose & Throat, Gynecology, Urology and Rheumatology; No. 2 in Geriatrics, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry; No. 3 in Cancer, Digestive Disorders, Endocrinology and Respiratory Disorders; No. 4 in Heart & Heart Surgery; No. 5 in Orthopedics; and No. 6 in Kidney Disease.

Miller and Peterson said Johns Hopkins knows that rankings "tell only part of a great hospital's story," and noted that independent evaluations are of growing value to patients, the public, referring physicians and insurers.

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.

For more on the rankings, go to www.hopkinsmedicine.org or www.usnews.com.

 

IPS holds International Urban Fellows Conference in Scotland

The Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies International Urban Fellows Association held the 37th International Urban Fellows Conference, Change and Continuity: Cities in Evolution, from June 9 to 13 in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland.

Ian Appleton, a 1972 Urban Fellow, hosted the event attended by IPS Director Sandra Newman, Senior Fellow Marsha Schachtel, and 39 fellows and their guests who traveled from Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.

Through expert-guided walking tours and presentations by local historians, architects, government officials, developers and community representatives, the fellows gained insights into the history and future of Edinburgh's development. A day in Glasgow provided a view of the nascent redevelopment along the Clyde riverfront, as well as neighborhood and social transformation efforts.

 

New Baltimore teachers begin their programs at School of Ed

More than 200 new teachers who will start their careers in the Baltimore City Public School System this fall recently began classes at the School of Education to pursue their Master of Arts in Teaching degree or complete courses required for certification. These candidates were selected to participate in one of two programs — Teach for America and the Baltimore City Teaching Residency — that are partnerships between the School of Education and Baltimore City schools.

Teach for America draws from a national corps of recent college graduates from all academic backgrounds who have committed to at least two years of teaching. Baltimore City Teaching Residency participants tend to be working professionals who have decided to change professions. This incoming class will make up about 25 percent of the new teachers hired by the Baltimore City Public School System for this coming school year.

 

Center for Summer Learning receives two grants for programs

The Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins, which works to create opportunities for high-quality summer learning for all young people, recently received two grants to support this year's efforts.

A $15,000 grant from Staples Foundation for Learning supported National Summer Learning Day, which promotes the importance of summer learning in communities across the country. Held this year on July 12, the day included meetings with policymakers on Capitol Hill and more than 130 other events in 33 states and D.C.

With a $15,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, the center is supporting 10 summer programs in Maryland. Each received $1,500 to purchase books and other materials to support activities in conjunction with Summer Learning Day.

The 10 recipients represent a diverse collection of schools, camps and community-based organizations that provide summer learning and enrichment activities. They are Alexander Hamilton Elementary School, Baltimore Talent Development High School, Door/Baltimore Urban Leadership Foundation, Youth Club of Westhills and William S. Baer School, all of Baltimore City; Anne Arundel County Public Schools/Lothian Elementary, Annapolis; Big Learning, Garrett Park; Camp Puh'tok, Monkton; Cumberland Department of Parks and Recreation, Cumberland; and Montgomery County Lucky Clovers 4-H Reading Buddies, Rockville.

GO TO JULY 23, 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
GO TO THE GAZETTE FRONT PAGE.