Celebrating the leaders of quality performance

These academic medical centers deliver the highest level of complex care, performing advanced cardiothoracic, neurosurgery, and transplant procedures. The following hospitals earned top performer recognition in 2026.

• 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

These medical centers deliver highly complex care, combining advanced surgical programs with organ transplants, trauma services, or high-volume patient transfers. The following hospitals earned top performer recognition in 2026.

• 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 Josephs Hospital

Complex Care Medical Centers provide significant surgical care that falls between community hospitals and the specialized complex care cohort. We recognize the following hospitals as top performers in this cohort for 2026.

• 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 Pickering Methodist Hospital
• Yale New Haven Health: Greenwich Hospital
• Cleveland Clinic - Tradition Hospital
• Inova-Alexandria Hospital

These hospitals provide essential surgical care to their communities, with surgical volumes that distinguish them from smaller community facilities. We recognize the following hospitals as top performers in this cohort for 2026.

• AdventHealth Dade City
• AdventHealth South Overland Park
• Froedtert West Bend Hospital
• Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital
• AdventHealth Winter Garden
• ProHealth - Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital
• Intermountain Health LDS Hospital
• Intermountain Health American Fork Hospital
• Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital
• Jefferson-Lehigh-Hecktown Oaks
• AdventHealth Riverview
• AdventHealth Avista
• AdventHealth Gordon
• AdventHealth Castle Rock
• Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital
• Northwell Syosset Hospital
• Progress West HealthCare Center
• Prisma Health Hillcrest Hospital
• Cleveland Clinic - Avon Hospital
• Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center
• MedStar Harbor Hospital
• AdventHealth Apopka

These hospitals provide vital community-based care with a smaller surgical footprint. We recognize the following hospitals as top performers in this cohort for 2026.

• The University of Kansas Health System Paola
• Intermountain Health Park City Medical Center
• AdventHealth Murray
• NGMC Lumpkin
• Baptist Memorial Hospital - Crittenden
• Intermountain Health Sevier Valley Hospital
• The University of Kansas Health System - Great Bend Campus
• Intermountain Health Layton Hospital
• Intermountain Health Spanish Fork Hospital
• CHRISTUS Jasper Memorial Hospital
• Novant Health Ballantyne Medical Center
• Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center
• Fairview Northland Regional Hospital
• Parkview Dekalb Hospital
• OhioHealth Van Wert Hospital
• AdventHealth Lake Placid
• AdventHealth Manchester
• Allina Health Faribault Medical Center
• UPMC Passavant-Cranberry
• Southeast Georgia Health System - Camden Campus
• Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital
• Tucson Medical Center Rincon
• Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital
• MUSC Health Black River Medical Center

Critical Access Hospitals serve rural and remote communities, operating with limited beds and short stays to provide essential care close to home. The following hospitals earned top performer recognition in 2026.

• Intermountain Health Delta Community Hospital
• Essentia Health Ada
• Ochsner Laird Hospital
• Ochsner Scott Regional Hospital
• Emplify Health Oconto Hopsital
• Ochsner Watkins Hospital
• Intermountain Health Heber Valley Hospital
• ThedaCare Medical Center-Wild Rose
• West Tennessee Healthcare Camden Hospital
• Corewell Health Gerber Hospital
• Parkview Wabash Hospital
• Corewell Health Pennock Hospital
• St Lukes Jerome Medical Center
• West Tennessee Healthcare Bolivar Hospital
• Hedrick Medical Center
• Carilion Giles Community Hospital

Pediatric Hospitals care for the most complex and critically ill children, including high-acuity newborns, major surgical cases, advanced life support, and organ transplants. The following hospitals earned top performer recognition in 2026.

• Rush University Medical Center
• Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
• Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center
• Atlantic Health Morristown Medical Center
• Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital
• Miller Childrens & Womens Hospital Long Beach
• Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital
• The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

The award annually highlights Vizient provider clients that demonstrate superior performance, as measured by the Vizient Quality and Accountability Study, conducted annually since 2005. It was posthumously renamed in 2015 to honor Bernard “Bernie” Birnbaum, MD, who served as senior vice president, vice dean, and chief of hospital operations for NYU Langone Medical Center and as a member of the former University HealthSystem Consortium's board of directors.

Quality Leadership performance of patient care is measured in six domains: mortality, efficiency, effectiveness, patient centeredness, safety, and variation in care. The ranking's composite scoring system uses patient-level performance data from the Vizient Clinical Data Base, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC NHSN).

Participating Vizient provider clients are segmented into seven cohorts: Comprehensive Academic Medical Centers; Large, Specialized Complex Care Medical Centers; Complex Care Medical Centers; Community Hospitals; Small Community Hospitals; Critical Access Hospitals; and Pediatric Hospitals. One top performer is recognized in each cohort.

Bernard “Bernie” Birnbaum, MD, served as senior vice president, vice dean, and chief of hospital operations for NYU Langone Medical Center. He was also a member of the former University HealthSystem Consortium's board of directors. The award was posthumously renamed in 2015 to honor his legacy of leadership and commitment to quality in healthcare.