Baltimore is a harbor city located on the Patopsco River estuary, which empties into Chesapeake Bay. Once known worldwide for its shipbuilders (the Famous Baltimore clippers were once one of the most popular merchant vessels), the city remains an important trading harbor and is now known as one of the nation's leading medical research centers.
Baltimore is home to two prestigious medical facilities: the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Hospital. The headquarters for the National Institutes of Health is located nearby, in Montgomery County. This has lead many biomedical companies to base themselves in Baltimore, where they can easily access quality medical facilities when investigating new products and hosting clinical trials.
Johns Hopkins Hospital took top place in the 2002 the US News & World Report "Best Hospitals" listing. To make the report's Honor Roll, a hospital has to score well in at least six out of seventeen specialties. Johns Hopkins met the honor roll criteria in sixteen areas. This means that in each area of specialty, the hospital ranked in the top ten nationwide. In fact, a breakdown of the hospital's rankings by specialty shows that in the majority of cases, Johns Hopkins placed within the top five:
- eyes (1st)
- ears, nose and throat (1st)
- urology (1st)
- digestive disorders (2nd)
- geriatrics (2nd)
- rheumatology (2nd)
- respiratory disorders (3rd)
- psychiatry (3rd)
- pediatrics (3rd)
- hormone disorders (3rd)
- neurology (3rd)
- cancer (3rd)
- orthopedics (4th)
Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins has been a consistent frontrunner in medical treatment and research. The life-saving system of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) was developed at Johns Hopkins and researchers at the hospital also developed kidney dialysis. Johns Hopkins was the first US hospital to use rubber gloves during surgery and the first to allow women to study for medical degrees.
Cutting edge developments such as those discussed here are made possible by clinical trial participants. If you are interested in participating in a research study in the Baltimore area, check the list at the top right on this page.
