Pennsylvania’s Best Hospitals: 26 Make U.S. News Rankings

PENNSYLVANIA — U.S. News & World Report has released its latest rankings of the best hospitals in the United States. The data used is pre-pandemic, so the coronavirus's full impact on hospitals nationwide is not shown in the latest rankings.

The hospital rankings for 2020-21 include the Honor Roll, top-ranked hospitals in 16 specialty categories, and the top-ranked hospitals by state and metro.

Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian was the only hospital in the state that made U.S. News' Honor Roll of the top 20. Additionally, 26 Pennsylvania hospitals made the state’s best hospitals list.

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, was once again ranked as the best hospital in the nation.

“The pandemic has altered, perhaps permanently, how patients get care and from whom they get it. Amid the disruption, we are steadfastly committed to providing the public with authoritative data for comparing hospital quality,” said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News. “No hospital’s clinical team came through this unprecedented health crisis unscathed.”

In Pennsylvania, the top-ranked hospitals are:

*denotes a tie in the rankings

1. Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian, Philadelphia: Ranked in 12 adult specialties and rated high performing in 2 adult specialties and 10 procedures and conditions. MORE.

2. UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside, Pittsburgh: Ranked in 11 adult specialties specialties and rated high performing in 3 adult specialties and 8 procedures and conditions. MORE.

3. Jefferson Health-Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Philadelphia: Ranked in 9 adult specialties specialties and rated high performing in 3 adult specialties and 7 procedures and conditions. MORE.

4.* Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster: Ranked in 1 adult specialty specialty and rated high performing in 4 adult specialties and 9 procedures and conditions. MORE. Penn State Health

4.* Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey: Ranked in 1 adult specialty and 5 pediatric specialties and rated high performing in 6 adult specialties and 7 procedures and conditions. MORE.

6.* Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown: Rated high performing in 7 adult specialties and 8 procedures and conditions. MORE.

6.* St. Luke's University Hospital-Bethlehem Campus, Bethlehem: Rated high performing in 5 adult specialties and 10 procedures and conditions. MORE.

8. Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia: Ranked in 1 adult specialty specialty and rated high performing in 5 adult specialties and 5 procedures and conditions. MORE.

9. UPMC Pinnacle, Harrisburg: Rated high performing in 3 adult specialties and 8 procedures and conditions. MORE.

10.* Chester County Hospital, West Chester: Ranked in 1 adult specialty specialty and rated high performing in 3 adult specialties and 3 procedures and conditions. MORE.

10.*Lankenau Medical Center, Wynnewood: Rated high performing in 9 adult procedures and conditions.

12. Jefferson Health-Abington Hospital, Abington: Rated high performing in 2 adult specialties and 5 procedures and conditions. MORE.

13.* Doylestown Hospital, Doylestown: Rated high performing in 6 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

13.* Reading Hospital, Reading: Rated high performing in 2 adult specialties and 4 procedures and conditions. MORE.

13. UPMC Passavant, Pittsburgh: Rated high performing in 1 adult specialty and 5 procedures and conditions. MORE.

16. Bryn Mawr Hospital, Bryn Mawr: Rated high performing in 1 adult specialty and 4 procedures and conditions. MORE.

17.* Geisinger Medical Center, Danville: Rated high performing in 4 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

17.* Mount Nittany Medical Center, State College: Rated high performing in 4 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

17.* St. Clair Hospital, Pittsburgh: Rated high performing in 4 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

17.* St. Mary Medical Center, Langhorne: Rated high performing in 4 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

17.* UPMC St. Margaret, Pittsburgh: Rated high performing in 4 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

17.* WellSpan York Hospital, York: Rated high performing in 4 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

23.* Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh: Rated high performing in 3 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

23.* Chambersburg Hospital, Chambersburg: Rated high performing in 3 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

23.* Riddle Hospital, Media: Rated high performing in 3 adult procedures and conditions. It is a general medical and surgical facility. MORE.

26. *Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Wilkes Barre: Rated high performing in 3 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

26.* Jefferson Health-Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, Philadelphia: Rated high performing in 3 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

26.* WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital, Lebanon: Rated high performing in 3 adult procedures and conditions. MORE.

The 16 specialties that hospitals were ranked for are: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, ear, nose and throat, gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, gynecology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, psychiatry, pulmonology and lung surgery, rehabilitation, rheumatology and urology.

Twelve of the specialty rankings — which cover categories such as cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology and nephrology — are determined mostly by data; the other four specialties — ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation and rheumatology — are determined entirely by expert opinion, U.S. News said.

Honor Roll Hospitals

U.S. News said the hospitals that make the Honor Roll deliver exceptional treatment across multiple areas of care.

“The Honor Roll is geared to identifying hospitals that are both exceptionally good at the service they offer and offer a wide breadth of service,” Harder told Patch last year, explaining that by definition, that means hospitals that are highly ranked across many or most specialties.

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota took the No.1 spot on the 2020-21 Honor Roll, followed by the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell, New York and the UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles rounded out the top five on the Honor Roll.

The remaining hospitals on the Honor Roll are:

• 6. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
• 7. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, San Francisco
• 8. UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco
• 9. NYU Langone Hospitals, New York, N.Y.
• 10. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
• 11. University of Michigan Hospitals-Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor
• 12. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston
• 13. Stanford Health Care-Stanford Hospital, Palo Alto, California
• 14. Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
• 15. Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian, Philadelphia
• 16. Mayo Clinic-Phoenix
• 17. Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
• 18. Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Saint Louis (tie)
• 18. Keck Medical Center of USC, Los Angeles (tie)
• 20. Houston Methodist Hospital

Methodology

U.S. News & World Report said the 2020-21 rankings evaluated nearly every community hospital in America. Only 134 hospitals out of over 4,500 were ranked in one specialty, while 563 hospitals were ranked among the best regional hospitals.

A hospital was ranked regionally based on its performance in delivering complex and common care, U.S. News said. The rankings are jointly produced by U.S. News and RTI International, a North Carolina-based research organization. (Read the full U.S. News best hospitals methodology.)

Hospital Heros

This year, the U.S. News rankings are accompanied by their “Hospital Heroes” project, a series of profiles highlighting more than 60 health care heroes from across the country.

“Our Hospital Heroes series is a tribute to recognizing individuals at urban and rural hospitals in communities across the country who have gone above and beyond during this unparalleled time in history,” Harder said.