Beyond the musical chairs shuffle, the top hospital rankings, now in its 33rd year, are essentially unchanged from 2021.
Four California health systems have maintained their place atop U.S. News & World Report's widely read and influential "Honor Roll" of the nation’s Top 20 hospitals in 2022, although the rankings for some hospitals shifted slightly.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was ranked 2nd in the nation (up from 6th last year), behind Mayo Clinic (No. 1 for seven straight years).
UCLA Medical Center, ranked 3rd last year, dropped into a 5th-place tie with Johns Hopkins Hospital. Stanford Health Care-Stanford Hospital capped the Top 10 at No. 10, up from No. 12 last year, while UCSF Health – UCSF Medical Center, ranked No. 9 last year, was bumped out of the Top 10 and dropped to No. 12.
Beyond the musical chairs shuffle, the top hospital rankings, now in its 33rd year, are essentially unchanged from 2021.
"Thanks to the dedication of our physicians, nurses, academic leaders and thousands of others on our staff, Cedars-Sinai continues to provide innovative healthcare, enhanced by our commitment to pioneering research, teaching and education," CEO Thomas M. Priselac says in a media release. "We are proud of Cedars-Sinai's contributions to our diverse Los Angeles community as well as nationally and globally."
Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health and CEO of UCLA Hospital System, says his health system's long-standing place among the nation's top hospitals "reflects the unwavering dedication and immense skill of our physicians, nurses, healthcare professionals and support staff."
"Being among the best in the country requires continually striving for improvement to enhance all aspects of patient care," Spisso says. "I'm proud of the dedication and commitment of our team in pursuit of excellence in providing world-class care with compassion to patients who come to UCLA Health from near and far."
The methodologies used to rank the hospitals are based on measures collected by the federal government and hospital stakeholders, such as risk-adjusted survival and discharge-to-home rates, volume, and quality of nursing, among other care-related indicators for more than 30 specialties, procedures and conditions, such as cardiology, oncology, diabetes, orthopedics, geriatrics, and psychiatry.
This year, the magazine has added ovarian, uterine, and prostate cancer surgeries to its list of specialties and has expanded health equity metrics that highlight care for low-income patients and racial disparities in surgical outcomes.
The magazine also evaluated 416 hospitals in California in nine regions of the state, including the Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Modesto, Oxnard, Riverside-San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose metro areas.
(Editor's note: The version of this story that ran in the August 1, 2022 issue of California Health Facts included incorrect numbers and ratings. The article has now been corrected with the 2022 numbers.)
“Thanks to the dedication of our physicians, nurses, academic leaders and thousands of others on our staff, Cedars-Sinai continues to provide innovative healthcare, enhanced by our commitment to pioneering research, teaching and education.”
Thomas M. Priselac, CEO, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
John Commins is the news editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was ranked 2nd in the nation (up from 6th last year), behind Mayo Clinic (No. 1 for seven straight years).
UCLA Medical Center, ranked 3rd last year, dropped into a 5th-place tie with Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Stanford Health Care-Stanford Hospital cracked the Top 10 at No. 10, up from No. 12 last year.
UCSF Health – UCSF Medical Center, No. 9 last year, was bumped out of the Top 10 and fell to No. 12.