The best hospitals in the US, ranked

Known originally as Duke Clinic when it opened in 1930, Duke University Hospital sought to establish an academic medical center in a region that had previously lacked one.

Today, Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, is the flagship of the Duke University Health System. The system sees more than 2 million patients outside the hospital per year and has more than 68,000 inpatient stays, according to US News. It is ranked as the top hospital in North Carolina.

Mount Sinai Hospital is located in New York City and affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine. It's part of a health system that has seven hospitals in the New York City area.

According to US News, it's known for its Geriatric Services department, which contains the Division of Experimental Diabetes and Aging, as well as for its digestive diseases treatments. The cardiology department is also highly ranked by US News.

Ranked number one in Tennessee, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville is affiliated with Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

It's known for a wide variety of specialty treatments, and is nationally ranked in 10 specialties for adults and 10 for children, according to US News. In 2008, the Vanderbilt Eye Institute was created to focus on treating a range of eye conditions.

Ranked as the second best hospital in Pennsylvania UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside is located in Pittsburgh and is the flagship of the UPMC system. It's affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

UPMC is a Level 1 trauma center and has done more than 19,500 organ transplants surgeries. It's nationally ranked in 12 adult specialties, according to US News.

NYU Langone is located in Manhattan. Its Tisch Hospital was founded in 1882 and merged with the New York University Medical Center in 1948.

The hospitals are nationally ranked in 12 adult specialties, according to US News.

Dr. Jonas Salk and Dr. Albert Sabin, who created the polio vaccine, both graduated from the New York University School of Medicine, which is affiliated with NYU Langone Hospitals.

Ranked as the best hospital in Pennsylvania, and first in Philadelphia, Penn Medicine was established as the first teaching hospital in 1874. Penn Presbyterian Medical Center was founded in 1871 and merged with the University of Pennsylvania Health System in 1995.

According to US News, it ranked nationally in 12 adult specialties and has a highly ranked division focused on kidney treatment and research.

Ranked as the best hospital in Illinois, Northwestern Memorial is located in Chicago and is the teaching hospital for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

According to US News, the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute is highly regarded and consists of six centers focused on a different specialties in cardiovacular health. In 1997, doctors there performed the first minimally invasive heart procedure as an alternative to surgery or angioplasty. The hospital is nastionally ranked in 11 adult specialties, according to US News.

Ranked as the best hospital in Arizona, the Mayo Clinic located in Phoenix is an outpost of the original Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. According to US News, it is nationally ranked in 11 adult specialties and "high performing" in nine adult procedures and conditions.

US News notes that the hospital ranks highly on patient experience surveys. Mayo-Clinic Phoenix specializes in a number of areas like cancer care, neurology, kidney disease, and respiratory medicine, according to US News.

Ranked as the best hospital in Missouri, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, is a teaching hospital associated with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Barnes-Jewish hospital performed the first kidney transplant in 1963, and the hospital now performs around 200 kidney transplants per year, according to US News. It's nationally ranked in 12 adult specialties by US News.

Ranked as the number one hospital in New York, and best in New York City, New York-Presbyterian is ranked nationally in 14 adult specialties and 10 pediatric specialties, according to US News.

Before the New York Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital merged, Dr. George Papanicolaou at New York Hospital invented the Pap smear test to screen women for cervical cancer. The hospital is affiliated with both Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The fourth-best hospital in California, Stanford Hospital is a teaching hospital for Stanford University School of Medicine. According to US News, it is ranked nationally in 12 adult specialties.

Stanford Hospital is home to many firsts, like the first adult heart transplant in the US and the first successful heart-lung transplant, according to US News.

Ranked as the third best hospital in California, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's health system has more than 40 locations. According to US News, it is ranked nationally in 12 adult specialties.

Doctors at the hospital's Smidt Heart Institute perform two kinds of complicated heart-valve procedures more frequently than any other hospital site in the US, according to US News. Cedars-Sinai also has the first comprehensive women's heart center, US News said.

Ranked as the second-best hospital in California, UCLA Medical Center is a teaching hospital located on the University of California, Los Angeles campus.

According to US News it is nationally ranked in 14 adult specialties and rated "high performing" in seven adult procedures and conditions. The medical center is also one of the first hospitals designed to keep working during natural disasters such as earthquakes.

Ranked as the top hospital in California, UCSF has a network of campuses across the Bay Area. It is a teaching hospital for the University of California, San Francisco.

UCSF Medical Center is nationally ranked in 15 adult specialties and 10 pediatric specialties. The hospital also has a center for integrative medicine, offering modern medical treatments with holistic healing practices such as massage and acupuncture.

University of Michigan Hospitals - Michigan Medicine is ranked as the top hospital in Michigan. The medical center's main campus is comprised of eight buildings and there are 25 health centers in the surrounding region. According to US News, U-M is nationally ranked in 14 adult specialities and 10 pediatric specialties.

The hospital created the first dermatology department in the US, the first human genetics program, and the first comprehensive depression center, US News said.

Ranked as the number one hospital in Massachusetts, Massachusetts General Hospital was founded in 1811 and is a teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School. According to US News, it ranks nationally in 16 adult specialities and four pediatric specialties.

Mass General has the largest hospital-based research program in the US, spanning 30 departments, according to US News. Some of its specialty facilities include a fertility center, an ALS clinic, a diabetes team, and a geriatric medicine unit, US News reports.

Ranked as the number one hospital in Maryland, Johns Hopkins Hospital is located in Baltimore and is the teaching hospital for Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Johns Hopkins Hospital is home to many medical firsts such as isolating and crystallizing insulin and inventing the rechargeable pacemaker, according to US News. Its Center for Music and Medicine offers treatment using music to aid patients with Parkinson's and dementia, US News said.

Ranked as the best hospital in Ohio, the Cleveland Clinic Health System consists of 11 hospitals and 18 health centers. Founded in 1921, Cleveland Clinic now has 44 buildings on its main campus. According to US News, it is ranked nationally in 14 adult specialties and 10 pediatric ones.

The Mayo Clinic is located in Rochester, Minnesota and was founded in 1889. Mayo Clinic Health System now owns 19 hospitals in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

According to US News, Mayo Clinic is nationally ranked in 15 adult specialties and seven pediatric specialties.