Nation IN BRIEF : NATIONWIDE : Johns Hopkins Again Rated Best Hospital

For the third consecutive year, the Johns Hopkins Hospital has been rated the best hospital in the United States in U.S. News & World Report’s annual survey of American hospitals. But this year, the news magazine used what it said was a more sophisticated method to measure excellence, taking into account death rates, technology, nurse-to-bed ratios and other “objective” criteria along with an opinion survey of 2,400 physicians. Johns Hopkins made the cut in 15 specialties, compared with 13 for the Mayo Clinic, 12 for UCLA Medical Center and 11 for Massachusetts General.