July 19, 2011 -- Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore ranks first in the U.S. News and World Report 2011-2012 "honor roll" of top hospitals in the U.S.

The list is based on performance statistics in 16 medical specialties in 94 metropolitan areas.

"These are referral centers where other hospitals send their sickest patients," says Avery Comarow, editor of U.S. News Health Rankings. "Hospitals like these are ones you or those close to you should consider when the stakes are high."

Only 17 hospitals made the national honor roll, including two that tied:

1. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
3. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
4. Cleveland Clinic
5. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles
6. New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, N.Y.
7. UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco
8. Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
9. Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
10. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
11. Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University, St. Louis
12. UPMC-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
13. University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle
14. University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, Ann Arbor (tie)
15. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville (tie)
16. Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York
17. Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford, Calif.

The rankings are based on a survey by U.S. News and World Report of nearly 10,000 specialists and data from almost 5,000 hospitals. Death rates, patient safety, and hospital reputation were among the factors considered.

U.S. News and World Report says in a news release that only 140 hospitals were nationally ranked in one or more specialties, and that its "honor roll" features the 17 that scored near the top in at least six categories. The honor roll distinction, U.S. News and World Report says, signals both rare breadth and rare depth of medical excellence.

Top Hospitals by Specialty

The magazine also released information on 94 hospitals with solid performance to provide consumers with information about hospitals within their community and in their insurance network.

Here is a list of the top hospital in each specialty used to compile the honor roll.

• Cancer: University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.
• Cardiology and Heart Surgery: Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland.
• Diabetes and Endocrinology: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Ear, Nose and Throat: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.
• Gastroenterology: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Geriatrics: Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City.
• Gynecology: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Nephrology: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Neurology and Neurosurgery: John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.
• Ophthalmology: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami.
• Orthopaedics: Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City.
• Psychiatry: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
• Pulmonology: National Jewish Health, Denver-University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora.
• Rehabilitation: Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
• Rheumatology: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.
• Urology: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.