Lancaster General Hospital was once again named among the top 50 hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report. The announcement represents the sixth time in seven years that LGH received this national recognition.

In U.S. News's 2009-10 publication of America's Best Hospitals, accessible online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals and on sale at newsstands Tuesday, July 21, LGH was ranked 40th in the Digestive Disorders specialty.

Now in its 20th year, the multi-platform 2009-10 America's Best Hospitals guide is the most extensive hospital ranking to-date. Only 174 of the 4,861 medical centers evaluated scored high enough to be included. LGH is the only hospital in Lancaster County to have ever attained the U.S. News honor.

The rankings in 12 of the 16 specialties, including Digestive Disorders, are predominantly driven by hard data. There are four components: reputation, death rate, patient safety (new this year) and care-related factors such as nursing and patient services. In these 12 specialties, hospitals have to pass through several gates to be ranked and considered a Best Hospital.

"It is with great pride that I congratulate Lancaster General Hospital staff members and physicians on this outstanding achievement," said Thomas Beeman, President & CEO, Lancaster General Health. "In the spirit of our Celebrate Success Every Time Behavior, let's lift up this honor, which underscores our commitment and our ability to consistently provide our community with caring, high-quality healthcare that people deserve and expect. That consistency is what continues to earn the hospital its excellent reputation, both locally and nationally."