Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) - Cedar Crest ranks for the 20th consecutive year as one of the nation's top hospitals on U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals list.

LVH is the region's only nationally-ranked hospital and ranks No. 3 among hospitals in Pennsylvania for the second consecutive year.

The 2015-'16 list names LVH among the nation's top 3 percent of leading hospitals in seven categories: cardiology and heart surgery; gastroenterology and GI surgery; geriatrics; gynecology; orthopedics; pulmonology; and urology. These specialties also made the 2014-'15 Best Hospitals list.

This is the 11th time cardiology and heart surgery; geriatrics; and urology have been on the list; the 10th for gastroenterology and GI surgery; the seventh for orthopedics; and the fourth for gynecology and pulmonology.

LVH is the only hospital in the area to make the U.S. News national rankings in at least one specialty area every year since 1996.

In addition to the Best Hospitals national rankings, U.S. News cites hospitals as "high-performing" in regional markets around the country. Lehigh Valley Hospital and Lehigh Valley Hospital- Muhlenberg both are recognized among the Best Hospitals in Northeastern Pennsylvania-Lehigh Valley and the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Metro Area. Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg is listed as a high-performer in diabetes and endocrinology, geriatrics and pulmonology, and ranks No. 10 in the state, an improvement from 24th place last year.

"Inclusion for two decades on this exclusive and well-respected list puts our organization in a singular category with only a handful of the most accomplished health care systems nationwide," said Brian Nester, DO, MBA, FACOEP, LVHN president and chief executive officer. "Clearly, our community is in good hands being healed, comforted and cared for by our outstanding LVHN colleagues."

U.S. News evaluates hospitals in 16 adult specialties. In most specialties, it ranks the nation's top 50 hospitals and recognizes other high-performing hospitals that provide care at nearly the level of their nationally ranked peers.

The rankings will appear in print in the "U.S. News Best Hospitals 2016" guidebook, available in bookstores and on newsstands in August.