UCLA Medical Center ranks as one of the top three American hospitals, and the best hospital in the western United States for the 19th consecutive year, according to a U.S. News and World Report survey that reviews patient outcomes dated, reputation among physicians and other care-related factors.

The news comes on the heels of the hospital's June 29 move into its new state-of-the-art building, the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The 520-bed center blends the latest in medical technology with natural light and calming spaces to enhance patient healing.

Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore was ranked first with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. as second.

The "America's Best Hospitals" guide is in the magazine's July 21 edition. The rankings are also available online at www.usnews.com/ besthospitals.

The nonprofit, self-supporting hospital is the primary teaching hospital of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The new medical center also houses the Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA and the Resnick Neuropsychatric Hospital at UCLA.

The magazine put 5,453 medical centers through a screening process to create the 16 specialty rankings in the survey. A total of 170 hospitals made it into the rankings, and 19 entered the honor roll, which recognizes hospitals that demonstrate excellence across many specialties.

This story is provided by UCLA News.