U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT: JOHNS HOPKINS AGAIN RANKS #1

      U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT released its 1996 "America's Best
 Hospitals" survey today, with Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital
 topping the list for the sixth straight year.  The rankings,
 which will appear in Monday's edition of the magazine, are based
 on an evaluation of 1,961 hospitals throughout the nation (U.S.
 NEWS & WORLD REPORT release, 8/2).  The ratings, determined by
 the National Opinion Research Center at the University of
 Chicago, were based on overall quality, 16 specialty categories,
 use of advanced technology, reputation among physicians and
 "objective measures such as nurse-to-bed ratios and death rates." 
 A total of 126 medical centers earned one or more spots on the
 list, Baltimore SUN reports (Bor, 8/2).  To qualify for the
 rankings, hospitals had to be a member of the Council of Teaching
 Hospitals, "be affiliated with a medical school, or have at least
 half" of the "significant" medical technology items listed by the
 magazine, USA TODAY reports (Madden, 8/2).
      CONGRATULATIONS:  Johns Hopkins Hospital made the "Best
 Hospitals" list in all 16 specialties and received top rankings
 for its work in gynecology, ophthalmology and urology.  Johns
 Hopkins Hospital President Dr. James Block said, "It's
 interesting that six years in a row this has happened. ... At the
 same time, a number of other organizations have reached this
 conclusion.  I think it's fair to say that there is something to
 this" (SUN, 8/2).   
      BEST OF THE BEST:  The 16 "Honor Roll" hospitals, according
 to the survey and listed in descending order are:  Johns Hopkins
 Hospital, Baltimore; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; Massachusetts
 General Hospital, Boston; UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles; Duke
 University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; Cleveland Clinic;
 University of California San Francisco Medical Center; Brigham
 and Women's Hospital, Boston; University of Texas, M.D. Anderson
 Cancer Center, Houston; (tie) Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis;
 Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York;  University of
 Washington Medical Center, Seattle; University of Iowa Hospitals
 and Clinics, Iowa City; New York University Medical Center;
 University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor; Stanford
 University Hospital, Stanford, CA (U.S. NEWS release, 8/2).
      AREN'T YOU SPECIAL:  Top hospitals in specialty categories
 are:  AIDS, San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center;
 Cancer, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York;
 Cardiology, Cleveland Clinic; Geriatrics, University of
 California at Los Angeles Medical Center; Gynecology, Johns
 Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore; Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester,
 MN; Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Boston; Psychiatric Care,
 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (USA TODAY, 8/2).
      TOUGH TIMES:  Dr. John Bartlett, head of Johns Hopkins' AIDS
 service, said, "the best hospitals are part of academic medical
 centers struggling to maintain quality at a time when health
 plans are looking for the cheapest providers."  He added, "All
 the hospitals are asking how they can maintain that quality in an
 era of managed care" (SUN, 8/2).