Mass. General Named Nation's Top Hospital

Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston has been named the nation's top hospital by U.S. News and World Report.

MGH displaced Johns Hopkins in Baltimore at the top of the list in the annual rankings released Tuesday. Hopkins had been at the top for 21 consecutive years.

MGH President Dr. Peter Slavin called the ranking a "tribute to the more than 23,000" staff at the hospital.

Dr. David Torchiana, chairman of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, said the competition was not other hospitals, but "disease, health care costs, accessibility of services and social issues."

Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston was ranked ninth.

The 950-bed MGH was founded in 1811 and admits about 48,000 patients per year and delivers about 3,600 babies annually.