The Johns Hopkins Gazette: July 19, 1999
July 19, 1999
VOL. 28, NO. 40

  

In Brief

Johns Hopkins Gazette Online Edition

Hopkins again tops 'U.S. News' list of best hospitals

For the ninth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of American hospitals has placed The Johns Hopkins Hospital at the top of the list.

The magazine's 10th annual guide to America's best hospitals, dated July 19, reports results of a survey of a hospital's reputation in 16 medical specialties among a national sample of 2,400 board-certified specialist physicians, along with analysis of objective indicators derived from government data on death rates, technology, staffing, facilities, outpatient and community services, and discharge planning.

Conducted by the magazine in conjunction with reputable outside organizations, the analysis and survey have been modified every year to refine the categories and invest them with more reliable criteria. This year, the magazine ranked 188 qualifying hospitals (up from 132 last year) and placed 13 on its honor roll.

Hopkins Hospital has been ranked No. 1 by the magazine since 1991. In 1990, when the annual rankings began, Hopkins was No. 2.

This year Hopkins ranked in the top tier in 14 of the specialty categories listed. The hospital was ranked No. 1 in otolaryngology, ophthalmology, gynecology and urology; No. 2 in rheumatology; No. 3 in cancer, gastroenterology, geriatrics, endocrinology and pediatrics; No. 4 in neurology and neurosurgery and in orthopedics; No. 5 in psychiatry; and No. 6 in cardiology and heart surgery.

Holding the other top spots in the honor roll, following Hopkins, were the Mayo Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital.


SOM receives NSF grant for new program at Dunbar High

The School of Medicine was recently awarded a $450,000 National Science Foundation grant to sponsor a teacher mentoring program at the Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School.

The JHU School of Medicine-Dunbar High School Graduate Teaching Fellows Program will match selected doctoral candidates with Dunbar teachers. The aim is for the Hopkins fellows to serve as educational resources for Dunbar instructors and students, while at the same time allowing the graduate students to gain practical and theoretical classroom skills.

This NSF initiative is intended to improve the teaching of science and math at high schools attended predominantly by minority students and also to foster the interest of underrepresented minority groups in biomedicine and related fields.

Principal investigator James Hildreth, associate dean for graduate studies and a professor of pharmacology and molecular science in the School of Medicine, said this is a "win-win situation" that should enrich both the classroom experience at Dunbar and the careers of the selected Hopkins students.

"I'm just really excited for everybody, both the Dunbar students and the graduate students lucky enough to be accepted," said Hildreth.

The three-year grant will primarily be used to pay for fellows' stipends and partial tuition remission. Also, Dunbar will receive $60,000 worth of computer equipment, including 30 new computers and a wealth of software.

Dunbar, founded in 1965 as Baltimore's first magnet school for the health professions, is located just two blocks from the School of Medicine in East Baltimore.


Professor advising Montenegro on its economic independence

Professor Steve Hanke last week was in Montenegro advising President Milo Djukanovic on economic matters relating to that country's plans on economic independence from Serbia.

Hanke said Djukanovic asked him to come to review Montenegro's proposals to alter its political arrangement with the Serb-dominated federal state of Yugoslavia, and named him a special adviser on economic issues.

The plans call for a new confederation, with Montenegro remaining part of Yugoslavia but establishing control over its banking system and laws governing the economy. Hanke, an expert on currency boards, said Montenegro is proposing an arrangement similar to the "one country, two systems" relationship between Hong Kong and China. Under the plans, Montenegro would establish a currency board in which the dinar would be fully backed by the deutschmark.


Want to be a star? Help raise money by being a film extra

Johns Hopkins employees and their friends and families have an opportunity to help raise money for a good cause by appearing as extras in a major motion picture being filmed in Baltimore and starring Gene Hackman and Keanu Reeves. The Replacements is a comedy about a mismatched group of outsiders who "get a long shot at greatness when they replace the players on a striking pro football team," according to a spokesman for the film company.

On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 14 and 15, extras are needed for filming at PSI Net stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens. If Hopkins has at least 100 people sign up for each day, the film's producers will donate $5 per person to a worthy cause at the university.

Employees and their friends and family are eligible, but anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Free parking, food and drinks will be provided by Warner Brothers. In addition, all participants will be entered automatically into raffles for prizes such as sporting goods, vacation trips, electronics and an as-yet-unannounced grand prize.

Time is of the essence, so if you are interested, please contact Glenn Small in the Office of News and Information at 410-516-6094 or glenn@jhu.edu.


GO TO JULY 19, 1999 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
GO TO THE GAZETTE HOMEPAGE.