To create the list, Vizient evaluated hospital performance using data from the Vizient Clinical Data Base (CDB), which is the largest clinical comparative database of its kind and includes information from over 1,600 hospitals in 49 states. The CDB tracks quality measures such as mortality, length of state, readmission, and more.

The Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award is based on the Vizient Quality and Accountability Study, which scores healthcare organizations in six domains of patient care:

• Safety
• Mortality
• Effectiveness
• Efficiency
• Patient centeredness
• Variation in care

The study also accounted for measures from the CDB and included performance data from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey and CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network.

Vizient's top-performing hospitals and medical groups for 2026

Overall, Vizient recognized 145 hospitals and medical groups — including 111 Advisory Board members — as top performers across seven different cohorts.

Comprehensive academic medical centers

• NYU Langone Health
• Northwestern Memorial Hospital
• Houston Methodist Hospital*
• Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center & UT Health*
• Rush University Medical Center*
• Penn Medicine: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania*
• Intermountain Health Intermountain Medical Center*
• University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics*
• Mayo Clinic Rochester*
• Stanford Health Care*
• Keck Hospital of USC*
• Cleveland Clinic*

Large, specialized complex care medical centers

• Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital*
• Intermountain Health McKay-Dee Hospital*
• NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island
• Cleveland Clinic - Fairview Hospital*
• ThedaCare Regional Medical Center - Neenah
• NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn
• Intermountain Health Utah Valley Hospital*
• Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital*
• AdventHealth Waterman*
• Intermountain Health St. George Regional Hospital*
• ThedaCare Regional Medical Center - Appleton
• Northwestern Medicine Palos Community Hospital*
• Inova Loudoun Hospital*
• Cleveland Clinic - Weston Hospital*
• UCHealth - Medical Center of the Rockies*
• AdventHealth Daytona Beach*
• Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center
• Mayo Clinic Florida*
• Memorial Hermann - The Woodlands Medical Center*
• AdventHealth Porter*
• Missouri Baptist Medical Center*
• Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire*
• AdventHealth Ocala*
• NewYork-Presbyterian Queens*
• Cleveland Clinic - Hillcrest Hospital*
• Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital*
• Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital

Complex care medical centers

• Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital*
• Houston Methodist West Houston Hospital*
• Houston Methodist Cypress Hospital*
• Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital*
• AdventHealth Wesley Chapel*
• AdventHealth Fish Memorial*
• Penn Medicine: Chester County Hospital*
• Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital*
• AHN Wexford Hospital*
• Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital*
• Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital*
• AdventHealth North Pinellas*
• Adventist Health Castle*
• Memorial Hermann - Pearland Hospital*
• Riverview Medical Center*
• UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale*
• AdventHealth Zephyrhills*
• Intermountain Health Saint Joseph Hospital*
• SSM Health - St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles*
• AdventHealth Redmond*
• AdventHealth Celebration*
• MedStar Union Memorial Hospital
• OhioHealth Pickerington Methodist Hospital*
• Yale New Haven Health: Greenwich Hospital
• Cleveland Clinic - Tradition Hospital*
• Inova-Alexandria Hospital*