Even though health care is often about life and death, and out-of-pocket hospital costs can push many Americans with health insurance into medical bankruptcy, we know a lot more about the best restaurants and the best automobiles than we do about the best hospitals. The Lown Institute ranks states with the best hospitals using measures that most other agencies that rank hospitals do not consider.
The Lown Institute rankings highlight strikingly different practice patterns and behaviors of hospitals in different parts of the country. They are helpful from a public health perspective and less helpful in helping you choose a hospital. Every hospital in a state is different, so even if you live in a state with good hospitals, it’s important to choose your hospital carefully.
The Lown Institute defines the best hospitals as the ones that can best save patients’ lives and keep them healthy. They also invest in the communities’ health, have good financial assistance programs, and pay fair and equitable wages. And, they avoid delivering care that people do not need.
For the Lown Institute, patient outcomes represent 50 percent of a hospital’s grade. Doing right by the community and staff and providing financial assistance to patients, which the Lown Institute calls “civic leadership”, represents 30 percent of a hospital’s grade. And, care value represents 20 percent of the grade.
Patient outcomes cannot tell the full story about a hospital. Hospitals that treat the poorest patients and patients in the worst health will never have as good patient outcomes as hospitals that treat a relatively healthy and wealthy population, but they might deliver far better care.
So, how do the states rank?
Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio, and Rhode Island have hospitals that rank best overall according to the Lown Index. Of note, many of these states are in the northeastern US.
Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Washington, DC, have higher civic leadership rankings than other states. Of note, none of these states are in the northeastern US.
Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Vermont hospitals received the top rankings for value, meaning they do better at ensuring patients receive appropriate care. Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and Nevada hospitals received the lowest rankings.
While the Lown Institute findings overlap somewhat with other rankings, the Lown Institute finds some rural hospitals and safety net hospitals rank in the top 100, unlike other rankings.
The top hospital in the country, according to the Lown Institute index is JPS Health Network. It is a large public safety net hospital in Fort Worth, TX. It had top rankings in clinical outcomes, community benefit, inclusivity, and providing the right care. See here for the full list.
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