For the 10th 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 Johns Hopkins Hospital, with exceptional performance across 16 of 17 specialty rankings Š leads the U.S. News Honor Roll of hospitals that do many things exceptionally well," the magazine said.

The periodical's 11th annual guide to America's Best Hospitals, dated July 17, reports results of a survey of a hospital's reputation in 17 medical specialties among a national sample of 2,550 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 in 13 of the 17 specialties.

Conducted by the magazine in conjunction with outside organizations, the analysis and survey were modified again this year to refine categories and invest them with more reliable criteria, according to a magazine official. This year, the publication ranked 173 qualifying hospitals and placed 15 on its Honor Roll, up from 13 last year.

"We're elated, of course," said a joint statement from Johns Hopkins Medicine CEO/Dean Edward D. Miller, and Johns Hopkins Hospital President Ronald R. Peterson. "What a wonderful tribute to our hospital, its top-notch staff, the School of Medicine's faculty physicians and the many community physicians with whom we have close ties. It's a valued and valuable reminder that our job is to make sure, year after year, that our patient care is the best we are capable of giving."

In what has become a traditional summer celebration and recognition of employees' contribution to Hopkins' excellence and stature, faculty physicians and senior administrators greeted all shifts on the morning when the news became public to thank them and present a keepsake gift. "Our doctors, nurses and staff come to Hopkins every day to treat the sick, advance knowledge and increase access to the highest quality medical care," said Miller and Peterson in a statement. "At a time when any hospital can buy ads that toot its own horn and make all kinds of claims to fame, the independent rankings and analysis developed by U.S. News carry real value to the public, to insurers and to all of us who organize and deliver care."

Hopkins Hospital has been ranked No. 1 by the magazine since 1991. In 1990, when the annual rankings began, Hopkins was named No. 2. This year, in addition to landing at the top of the overall Honor Roll, the hospital ranked first in ear/nose/throat, gynecology, urology and eye care; second in geriatrics and rheumatology; third in cancer, digestive disorders, hormonal disorders, neurology/neurosurgery, pediatrics and respiratory disorders; fourth in cardiology and orthopedics; fifth in psychiatry; 10th in kidney disease (included for the first time in the list of specialties) and in the top 20 in rehabilitation.

To be ranked, a hospital had to be a member of the Council of Teaching Hospitals, be affiliated with a medical school, offer at least nine out of 17 services in the magazine's specialty list and meet other criteria. To make the Honor Roll, a hospital had to attain a high competency score in six of the 17 ranked specialties, a number determined by a formula developed by the magazine to summarize the quality of inpatient care.