7 MD Hospitals Ranked Among Top 250 In America

MARYLAND — Maryland is home to some of the best hospitals in the country, according to new rankings.

Healthgrades, an online health care information company, on Tuesday released its 2022 list of America's Best Hospitals.

The annual rankings recognize the top 1, 2 and 5 percent of hospitals in the nation.

Seven Maryland hospitals were in the top 5 percent, while one was in the top 1 percent, according to Healthgrades.

To compile the ranking, researchers looked at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid data between 2018 and 2020 for more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide. Researchers then analyzed how each performed across 31 commonly treated conditions and procedures including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, respiratory failure, sepsis and stroke.

Here are the Maryland hospitals ranked among the best in the nation:

America's 50 Best Hospitals (top 1 percent)

• MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, Baltimore County

America's 100 Best Hospitals (top 2 percent)

• Frederick Health, Frederick
• Holy Cross Hospital, Silver Spring
• Howard County General Hospital, Columbia
• Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore
• MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, Baltimore County
• UM St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson

America's 250 Best Hospitals (top 3 percent)

• Frederick Health, Frederick
• Holy Cross Hospital, Silver Spring
• Howard County General Hospital, Columbia
• Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore
• MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, Baltimore County
• Suburban Hospital, Bethesda
• UM St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson

See the full list of America's best hospitals for 2022 from Healthgrades.

To measure performance and evaluate hospitals for overall clinical excellence, Healthgrades used Medicare inpatient data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) file purchased from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for years 2018 through 2020.

Here is more information about the methodology.

A recent Healthgrades survey revealed that only 22 percent of U.S. adults reported that they considered hospital quality the last time they selected a specialist.

"It is crucial to know the top-performing hospitals in your community and look to these centers of clinical excellence to support you and your family's health long-term," Burt Kann, an executive at Healthgrades, said in a news release. "Many individuals choose a specialist without considering the quality of the hospital where that doctor treats patients. These questions need to be asked, and Healthgrades has the answers."

By offering easy access to data-driven hospital ratings, Healthgrades said it hopes to connect consumers with the providers and hospitals who are right for their care needs.

According to the website, if all hospitals as a group performed similarly to hospitals achieving Healthgrades America's 250 Best Hospitals Award on average, 160,256 lives could potentially have been saved.

"Now more than ever, consumers understand the importance of researching hospitals and finding the best organization to meet their health care needs," Dr. Brad Bowman, chief medical officer of Healthgrades, said in a news release. "Especially in this era of COVID-19, we commend the recipients … for their commitment to providing superior outcomes and keeping their communities safe."

Patch editors Jeff Arnold and Justin Heinze contributed to this report.