U.S. News & World Report named Emory Hospital one of America’s Best Hospitals in five medical specialties including cardiology, where Emory is included in the top 10 for the 12th time since the magazine’s Best Hospital rankings began in 1990.

This year, Emory’s program in heart and heart surgery finished 8th, just ahead of Stanford University Hospital in California. Emory’s heart program was the only one in Georgia included in the nation’s top 50.

Also ranked this year were Emory’s programs in eyes (13th), psychiatry (17th), kidney disease (21st) and urology (35th). Each of those programs was the only one in Georgia listed in its specialty area.

“Emory Hospitals’ consistent presence in these rankings, as well as rankings compiled by other organizations, is indicative of our intense commitment to clinical excellence, physician/patient education and development of clinical tools and techniques that will be used for years to come,” said John Henry, CEO of Emory Hospitals.

“We are delighted the Emory Heart Center has been recognized once again as one of the most important cardiology centers in the country,” said Douglas Morris, director of the Emory Heart Center. “The U.S. News and World Report ranking is particularly meaningful because it is a reflection of our standing among our medical peers.

“This confirms that our hard work has paid off in not only maintaining our ranking but in improving our stature as one of the country’s best heart centers,” Morris continued. “Most importantly, we believe it helps get the word out to patients and referring physicians that Emory continues to be nationally recognized, year after year, for our outstanding performance as a caring, innovative and highly experienced center for the full spectrum of cardiology care.”

Emory’s programs in eye care and psychiatry were ranked strictly on the basis of professional reputation, based on a survey of 180 randomly selected, board-certified physicians who were asked to name the top five programs in their specialty.

Thirteen of the 17 specialty areas ranked by U.S. News were assessed on a quality-of-care index that assigned equal weight to reputation, patient mortality (based on Medicare data), and a mix of other factors including the ratio of registered nurses to beds and the presence of various technology services.

In eye care, psychiatry and two other disciplines—rehabilitation medicine and pediatrics—mortality data are either not available (pediatrics) or are largely irrelevant, the magazine said.

“To be recognized again as one of America’s Best Hospitals is an outstanding tribute not only to our faculty physicians but also to our nurses, medical technologists and support staff across the board,” said Michael Johns, executive vice president for health affairs and chairman of Emory Healthcare.

Johns noted that although the rankings specifically apply to Emory Hospital, they reflect Emory’s strengths across the Emory Healthcare system. All physicians who admit patients to Emory Hospital are members of The Emory Clinic and a majority also are on the medical staffs of Crawford Long Hospital and Wesley Woods, each of which fall under the Emory Hospitals umbrella.