High ranking for Good Sam

When US News & World Report released its first-ever ranking of top hospitals by metropolitan area, Legacy was high on the list: Good Samaritan came in second and Legacy Emanuel tied for third.

To compile the list, US News & World Report analyzed data from its 2010-11 Best Hospitals list. That list named 152 of the nation's 4,852 hospitals as top-performing facilities across 16 specialties. Most of the specialty rankings were driven by data; the rest were based on a reputational survey of specialists.

The order depended on each hospital's number of nationally ranked specialties. A hospital with a nationally recognized specialty was listed above hospitals with multiple high-performing specialties. Therefore, according to the magazine, "the No. 1 hospital in a metro area is not necessarily the best in town for all patients."