Emory University Hospital in Atlanta has earned bragging rights as the top hospital in Georgia in 2011, according to U.S. News and World Report in its 22nd annual Best Hospitals ranking.

Emory hospital was also named among the nation’s best hospitals in 10 specialty areas: ophthalmology; psychiatry; heart surgery; kidney disorders; neurology; gynecology; geriatrics , urology; cancer and ear, nose and throat.

You can see how other metro Atlanta hospitals were ranked here.

U.S. News used such objective data as death rates, patient safety and procedure volume for the rankings. The newsmagazine also asked physicians in a national survey to name hospitals they consider best in their specialty for the toughest cases, according to U.S. News.

“These annual rankings provide an opportunity for every physician, nurse and staff member who serves Emory Healthcare’s patients and their loved ones to pause and celebrate an accomplishment reserved for very few medical centers across the nation,” says John T. Fox, Emory Healthcare president and CEO. “Today’s announcement also serves as a reinforced reminder of why we are in business – to provide the very best research and discovery-based medicine in a safe, patient and family-centered environment."

U.S. News ranked hospitals within all 52 U.S. metro areas with populations of 1 million or more, using data from 2010-11 Best Hospitals.

For the 21st year in a row, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore has taken the top national spot in the annual rankings, placing first in five medical specialties and in the top five in 10 others.

A detailed list of the rankings and information about how they are put together are available at www.usnews.com/besthospitals.

About the Author

Featured

Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo