Healthgrades released its 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Awards recognizing 438 hospitals in 40 states that rank among the top 10% nationwide for patient safety. The awards are based on 13 patient safety indicators measuring prevention of serious, avoidable complications during hospital stays.

Among all states, the highest number of award-winning hospitals were in Texas, Florida, California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The number of award-winning hospitals in the top five states ranged from 21 to 62. "The prevalence of recipients in a particular state could be related to something as simple as that state having a large number of hospitals," a Healthgrades spokesperson said.

Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, and New York City metro areas include multiple Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients. Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, North Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia had no hospitals on the Patient Safety Excellence Award list.

Patients at award-winning facilities were 52.4% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in fracture, 57.5% less likely to suffer a collapsed lung related to procedures, 67.8% less likely to develop catheter-related bloodstream infections, and 71.9% less likely to develop pressure sores. Those four indicators make up about 78% of all patient safety events.

If all hospitals performed at the same level as the 2026 recipients, more than 100,000 patient safety events could have been avoided between 2022 and 2024, according to the analysis. The awards are based on an analysis of Medicare inpatient data evaluating outcomes such as complications, mortality, and preventable safety events.

To qualify, hospitals must meet strict clinical thresholds and report zero cases of certain serious errors, such as leaving a foreign object behind during a procedure. Nearly one-third of the 2026 recognized hospitals were new to the list.

Overall, 250 hospitals ranked in the top 5% nationwide for safety. Top 5% hospitals include facilities affiliated with Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and HCA Healthcare.