CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland Clinic for the third straight year took the second place spot on the U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals rankings, bolstered by top rankings in both urology and cardiology.

For the 24th consecutive year, U.S. News ranked the Clinic the No. 1 hospital for cardiology and heart surgery.

"We here in Cleveland, Ohio are capable of receiving respect from the leading publications. I think it means a lot for this city. I think it means a lot for this state," Clinic President and CEO Dr. Tom Mihaljevic said during a phone interview with The Plain Dealer.

In overall national hospital rankings, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota beat out the Clinic for the top spot for the third year in a row. Johns Hopkins in Baltimore took the No. 3 ranking, while Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston took the No. 4 spot. University of Michigan Hospitals-Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, Michigan ranked No. 5.

While providing top care to patients remains the Clinic's priority, "rankings are important because they are a reflection of our success when it comes to our mission," Mihaljevic said. "I believe they are a good measure of organizational excellence."

"We're certainly not going to change the way, or compromise the way, that we deliver care to our patients just to get an additional point on the ranking system but we certainly strive to rank as high as possible," he said.

He attributed the Clinic's success, in part, to its focus on academics and research.

The U.S. News report ranks hospitals nationwide on performance in 16 specialty areas - ranging from cancer to urology - and at the regional level on scores for complex as well as common care. Of the 4,500 hospitals analyzed by U.S. News, 158 were ranked nationally in at least one specialty.

In addition to quality measures, U.S. News also rates hospitals based on reputation, which is one of the biggest criticisms of the rankings. Twenty-eight percent of the scoring is based on reputation. However, the rankings have decreased reliance on reputation, and this year put a greater emphasis on patient outcomes.

There are a number of hospital rankings, including the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Service's Hospital Compare and the Leapfrog Group's safety scores, among others. But Mihaljevic said the U.S. News rankings are the most cited among healthcare professionals and patients.

"What we have seen is that many, many patients, both nationally and internationally, use the rankings as a decision-making tool when looking for their healthcare destination," Mihaljevic said.

In Ohio, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center came in second, after the Clinic. Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center took third and Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton was ranked fourth. Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital came in fifth.

The Clinic had 14 specialties ranked nationally, 12 of which were ranked in the top five nationwide: cardiology/heart surgery (No. 1), urology (No. 1), gastroenterology/GI Surgery (No. 2), nephrology (No. 2), rheumatology (No. 2), orthopedics (No. 3), pulmonology (No. 3), diabetes/endocrinology (No. 4), neurology/neurosurgery (No. 4), cancer (No. 5), geriatrics (No. 5) and gynecology (No. 5).

UH Cleveland Medical Center ranked in the top 50 in 10 specialties, including five in the top 25: ear, nose and throat (No. 16), neurology/neurosurgery (No. 18). gastroenterology/GI surgery (No. 20); nephrology (No. 20) and gynecology (No. 25).

This story was updated to include comments from Clinic President and CEO Dr. Tom Mihaljevic.