July 7, 2006 - The latest issue of U.S. News & World Report contains their annual ratings of the best hospitals in the US.

This marks the seventh year that kidney disease has been included as one of the medical specialties covered in the report. Here is the US News listing of the 50 best hospitals for treating kidney disease in the US.

The top rated hospitals this year for kidney disease are:

1. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore - Division of Nephrology.

2. Mayo Clinic - Rochester, MN - Division of Nephrology

3. Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland - Nephrology & Hypertension

4. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston - Renal Unit

5. New York - Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell -

6. Brigham and Women's Hospital - Renal Division

For the 16th consecutive year, US News' annual ranking of American hospitals has placed The Johns Hopkins Hospital at the top of the list.