Special Report

Best Hospitals in America

Courtesy of Holy Family Hospital

Nobody wants to go to the hospital if it can be avoided, especially during a pandemic. And when people do have to go, they want the hospital to be a good one — or, better yet, one of the best. (You don’t want to get sick in one of the 25 cities with the worst hospital quality.)

24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of the 29 best hospitals in America, according to The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Survey for 2020, which uses a variety of national performance measures to evaluate individual institutions on safety, quality, and efficiency.  

The survey covers more than 2,700 hospitals. Not all offer the same services but to score among the best, they had to have high scores in relevant categories. 

Click here to see the best hospitals in America

To identify the best hospitals in America, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the 2020 Hospital Survey published by The Leapfrog Group, which collects and analyzes data on health care safety and quality in America. The survey rates hospitals on such matters as preventing and responding to patient harm; medication safety; healthcare-associated infections; maternity care; pediatric care; critical care; complex adult and pediatric surgery; care for elective outpatient surgery patients; and elective outpatient surgery for adults and children. To be ranked among the best, a hospital needed to receive an A grade in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, and to score among the highest institutions overall. Hospital locations were manually researched.

Interestingly, while preventing and responding to patient harm would seem crucial to all hospitals’ missions, many did not achieve top marks for so simple a measure as handwashing. (These are the states with the worst health care systems.)

Healthcare-associated infections are of concern to everybody, especially in the COVID era. 

(These are infections developed by the patient while in the hospital as a result of poor infection-control practices.) Among the more troubling findings of the survey was that some facilities had shortcomings with respect to the spread of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to many antibiotics.  

Though not all the hospitals on this list score highly across the board, in all cases the good aspects of the care they provide far outweigh the bad.

Source: Photo by Saha M. via Yelp

Arizona Spine & Joint Hospital
> Location: Mesa, Arizona

The specialties here are orthopedic, spine, podiatry and pain management procedures. It scored well by most measures, especially elective outpatient surgery categories.

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Source: Photo by Enloe Medical Center via Yelp

Enloe Medical Center
> Location: Chico, California

Enloe provides comprehensive services, including cardiac surgery, stroke, neurosurgery, orthopedics, cancer care, and maternity care. It scored high for preventing errors.

Source: Photo by Temecula Valley Hospital via Yelp

Temecula Valley Hospital
> Location: Temecula, California

Temecula’s services include emergency care, cardiology, orthopedics, and surgery. It scored high on many measures.

Source: Photo by Castle Rock Adventist Hospital via Yelp

Centura Health Castle Rock Adventist Hospital
> Location: Castle Rock, Colorado

Castle Rock Adventist achieved top marks in all categories relating to the prevention of and response to patient harm.

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Source: Photo by Monica H. via Yelp

Good Samaritan Medical Center
> Location: Lafayette, Colorado

Good Samaritan is a general medical and surgical facility and teaching hospital. It won top marks across the board for inpatient care management.

Source: Courtesy of Backus Hospital

The William W. Backus Hospital
> Location: Norwich, Connecticut

This acute care community hospital scored high for preventing and responding to patient harm and for critical care.

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Source: Photo by AdventHealth Altamonte Springs via Yelp

AdventHealth Altamonte Springs
> Location: Altamonte Springs, Florida

AdventHealth Altamonte Springs offers an array of services and boasts a nationally ranked cardiovascular care program. It scored well by most measures, with a few exceptions such as medication documentation for elective outpatient procedure patients.

Source: Photo by Wes O. via Yelp

AdventHealth Apopka
> Location: Apopka, Florida

Describing itself as the No. 1 hospital in Greater Orlando, this institution achieved generally high scores across the board.

Source: Photo by AdventHealth Kissimmee via Yelp

AdventHealth Kissimmee
> Location: Kissimmee, Florida

AdventHealth Kissimmee offers general and urgent care and boasts a leading transplant program. It achieved top marks in almost all categories.

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Source: Courtesy of AdventHealth North Pinellas

AdventHealth North Pinellas
> Location: Tarpon Springs, Florida

AdventHealth North Pinellas is a general medical and surgical facility and teaching hospital. It highlights its cardiologists. It scored high by most measures, but had a weaker score for MRSA infection.

Source: Photo by Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center via Yelp

AdventHealth Sebring
> Location: Sebring, Florida

AdventHealth Sebring, formerly Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center, is the flagship of three AdventHealth hospitals in Highlands and Hardee Counties. It also scored high by most measures, but had a weaker score for MRSA infection.

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Source: Photo by Kaitlyn S. via Yelp

AdventHealth Zephyrhills
> Location: Zephyrhills, Florida

AdventHealth Zephyrhills is an acute care community hospital. It scored well by many measures, but failed to achieve top marks in some categories of preventing and responding to patient harm.

Source: Courtesy of Kansas Surgery and Recovery

Kansas Surgery & Recovery Center
> Location: Wichita, Kansas

Kansas Surgery and Recovery Center is the state’s leading orthopedic surgery specialty hospital. It performs more than 1,300 finger, hand, wrist, forearm, and elbow procedures annually, and more than 900 knee procedures.

Source: Courtesy of Holy Family Hospital

Holy Family Hospital at Merrimack Valley
> Location: Haverhill, Massachusetts

Holy Family Hospital at Merrimack Valley provides a range of services. It has more than 100 acute care beds and scored high in related categories.

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Source: Simtropolitan / Wikimedia Commons

Holyoke Medical Center
> Location: Holyoke, Massachusetts

Holyoke Medical Center says it has been providing low-cost medical, dental, and pharmaceutical services in both English and Spanish to local communities for over 40 years. It has been a top-ranked hospital several times in recent years.

Source: Photo by Northern Nevada Medical Center via Yelp

Northern Nevada Medical Center
> Location: Sparks, Nevada

Northern Nevada Medical Center is an acute care hospital. It achieved top marks in most categories, except experience of patients undergoing elective outpatient surgery.

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Source: Photo by Hackensack Meridian Health Bayshore Medical Center via Yelp

Bayshore Medical Center
> Location: Holmdel, New Jersey

Bayshore is a 169-bed general medical and surgical hospital. It got top marks in almost all relevant categories.

Source: Jim.henderson / Wikimedia Commons

White Plains Hospital
> Location: White Plains, New York

White Plains Hospital is a general medical and surgical hospital. It operates a number of specialized programs, such as its cancer center. It achieved high scores in most categories except maternity care and complex adult surgery.

Source: Courtesy of Butler Memorial Hospital

Butler Memorial Hospital
> Location: Butler, Pennsylvania

Butler Memorial Hospital is part of Butler Health System, along with Clarion Hospital. There are 72 Butler outpatient locations in the region.

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Source: Photo by Kathy T. via Yelp

Lehigh Valley Hospital – Pocono
> Location: East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

Lehigh Valley Hospital – Pocono is the largest hospital in the Lehigh Valley and the flagship hospital of Lehigh Valley Health Network. It is known for its excellence in cardiac care and cardiac surgery.

Source: Courtesy of St. Luke's University Health Network

St. Luke’s Monroe Campus
> Location: Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

St. Luke’s Monroe is affiliated with the St. Luke’s University Health Network. It opened in 2016, so it has state-of-the-art facilities. They include a cancer center and an orthopedic practice.

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Source: Photo by Alisa J. via Yelp

Prisma Health Baptist Parkridge
> Location: Columbia, South Carolina

Prisma Health Baptist is a general medical and surgical facility. It is also a teaching hospital. It achieved mainly top marks across the board.

Source: Courtesy of Newport Hospital

Newport Hospital
> Location: Newport, Rhode Island

Newport Hospital offers an array of diagnostic and surgical services. It has an emergency department and is home to the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center and the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center.

Source: Courtesy of St. Luke's Health

CHI St. Luke’s Health The Woodlands Hospital
> Location: The Woodlands, Texas

CHI St. Luke’s Health The Woodlands offers a broad array of services, including heart care, neurology, and sports medicine. It boasts the only emergency department in The Woodlands that is staffed by both adult and pediatric physicians.

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Source: Courtesy of St. Luke's Health

CHI St. Luke’s Health Lakeside Hospital
> Location: The Woodlands, Texas

St. Luke’s Health Lakeside Hospital is a collaboration between St. Luke’s Health and a team of specialized physicians. It is focused on general and interventional cardiology, sports medicine, and orthopedics, including total joint replacement and spine care.

Source: Courtesy of Augusta Health

Augusta Health
> Location: Fishersville, Virginia

Augusta Health is a high-scoring hospital in Fishersville, just west of Charlottesville. It opened a new cardiovascular center in 2013 and expanded its emergency department in 2019.

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Source: Courtesy of Inova Alexandria Hospital

Inova Alexandria Hospital
> Location: Alexandria, Virginia

Inova Alexandria Hospital is a 318-bed community hospital that offers a full range of healthcare services. It also has a dedicated heart and vascular institute.

Source: Courtesy of Inova Fair Oaks Hospital

Inova Fair Oaks Hospital
> Location: Fairfax, Virginia

Inova Fair Oaks Hospital is a top-ranked 182-bed acute care community hospital serving the rapidly growing suburbs of Northern Virginia.

Source: Courtesy of Inova Loudoun Hospital

Inova Loudoun Hospital
> Location: Leesburg, Virginia

Inova Loudoun Hospital is home to Loudoun County’s only designated trauma center, pediatric emergency room, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and hospital-based natural birth center, including a “birthing inn.”

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