100 Great Hospitals in America | 2014

By Becker’s Hospital Review Staff

Defining a hospital today, let alone a great hospital, has become an unusual sort of challenge. A hospital is no longer just a facility where people go to have a baby or undergo surgery. It’s become an organization that coordinates care for the masses and ensures patients stay healthy in the future. It’s become less reactive, and more proactive. It’s more than just four walls — a hospital today has become a symbol of what needs to change to make U.S. healthcare more sustainable for future generations to come.

Becker’s Hospital Review is pleased to announce its 2014 list of “100 Great Hospitals in America.” Each of following institutions has a rich history, strong credentials and a growing focus on how to best care for patients in an era of reform. These organizations have played home to some of the greatest medical advancements in U.S. healthcare history, and they are also the bastions of their respective communities — serving the roles of academic hubs or local mainstays.

To develop this list, the Becker’s Hospital Review editorial team conducted research, considered nominations and evaluated reputable hospital ranking sources, such as U.S. News & World Report, Truven Health Analytics’ 100 Top Hospitals, Healthgrades, Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, The LeapFrog Group, and several other resources.

Editor’s note: This list is not a ranking, and hospitals are displayed in alphabetical order. This list is not an endorsement of included hospitals or associated healthcare providers, and hospitals cannot pay to be included on this list.

Abbott Northwestern Hospital, part of Allina Health (Minneapolis). Though it is now the largest hospital in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Abbott Northwestern has humble beginnings: Forty-four women opened Northwestern Hospital in a small rented house in 1882. With time and mergers, however, it has grown into a nationally recognized, 649-bed teaching hospital. [READ MORE]

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (Park Ridge, Ill.). Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, a 638-bed nonprofit organization, is the sixth-largest hospital in the Chicagoland area and a member of Advocate Health Care, the largest health system in Illinois. Advocate Lutheran General is at the top of its class clinically, but also makes strides environmentally. [READ MORE]

Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Lurie Children’s, formerly Children’s Memorial Hospital, was founded in 1882 in an eight-bed cottage by a young widow whose son died of acute rheumatic fever. After more than 130 years, it has grown into the largest pediatric provider in the Chicagoland area. [READ MORE]

Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center (Milwaukee). After serving patients independently on Milwaukee’s south side, Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center joined with Good Samaritan Medical Center in 1984 to become St. Luke’s Samaritan Health Care — the precursor to what is now Aurora Health Care. [READ MORE]

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis (Tenn.). Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis opened to the public in 1979, and during the course of the past 35 years, the hospital has become of the highest-volume facilities in Tennessee with roughly 27,000 discharges and 55,000 emergency department visits every year. [READ MORE]

Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis). Robert Barnes came to St. Louis in 1830 without a dollar to his name. After working his way up as a bank president, he died in 1892 and bequeathed $850,000 to the city to build a “modern general hospital for sick and injured persons, without distinction of creed” — later becoming Barnes Hospital. Soon thereafter, the Jewish community in St. Louis similarly established Jewish Hospital to help care for the wave of new immigrants coming into the city. [READ MORE]

Baylor University Medical Center (Dallas). Baylor University Medical Center was founded in 1903, when it opened as Texas Baptist Memorial Sanitarium in a 14-room renovated house with 25 beds. Now, the hospital is home to more than 20 specialty centers and is a national leader for organ transplants. [READ MORE]

Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak (Mich.). What started as a 238-bed community hospital in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak in 1955 has grown into the three-hospital Beaumont Health System. The system is named after William Beaumont, MD, a famous Michigan physician who led pioneering work on human digestion and physiology. [READ MORE]

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston). At the turn of the 20th century, Boston established two hospitals that would eventually become the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center that is known today. Methodist deaconesses founded Deaconess Hospital in 1896, and the Boston Jewish community built Beth Israel Hospital in 1916. In 1996, the two neighboring hospitals decided to merge, thus creating one of Boston’s renowned academic medical centers in the heart of the city. [READ MORE]

Billings (Mont.) Clinic (Billings, Mont.). Billings Clinic grew from the general medicine office of Arthur J. Movius, MD, who founded his practice in Billings in 1911. Eventually, the practice expanded into what was then known as Billings Deaconess Hospital, which opened its doors in 1927 with 58 beds. Today, Billings Clinic consists of a multispecialty physician group, a 285-bed hospital and a 90-bed skilled nursing and assisted living facility. [READ MORE]

Boston Children’s Hospital. Boston Children’s Hospital originally opened in 1869 as a 20-bed facility in Boston’s South End. Now, it is one of the largest pediatric medical centers in the United States and home to the world’s largest research enterprise at a pediatric hospital. [READ MORE]

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston). In 1980, three of Boston’s oldest hospitals — the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, the Robert Breck Brigham Hospital and the Boston Hospital for Women — merged to form Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which now serves patients from across the nation and 120 countries around the globe. [READ MORE]

Carle Foundation Hospital (Urbana, Ill.). Thanks to Margaret Burt Carle Morris’ $40,000 gift to the City of Urbana, Ill., Carle Foundation Hospital got its start in 1918. Today, the hospital is part of an integrated healthcare network owned by the nonprofit Carle Foundation. [READ MORE]

Carolinas Medical Center (Charlotte, N.C.). As the Charlotte campus of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Carolinas Medical Center is one of five teaching hospitals in the state. The 874-bed hospital is the flagship of Carolinas HealthCare System, which encompasses nearly 7,500 beds in North and South Carolina. [READ MORE]

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles). Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s legacy began with the opening of its predecessor, the 12-bed Kaspare Cohn Hospital in Angeleno Heights in 1902. Now, the hospital is a world-renowned academic medical center and the largest nonprofit hospital in the western United States. [READ MORE]

CHI St. Luke’s Health Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center (Houston). Last year was transformational for CHI St. Luke’s Health Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center. The 60-year old hospital — renowned for its heart programs and formerly known as St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital — became part of Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives and further expanded its affiliation with the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. [READ MORE]

Children’s Hospital Colorado (Aurora). Children’s Hospital Colorado was incorporated in 1908, but its history dates back to 1897 in tents — where a staff of six treated children under the age of five in the fresh air and sunshine, back when Denver’s climate was believed to be a cure for various diseases. Now, the hospital is located in Aurora, adjacent to the University of Colorado Hospital and School of Medicine. [READ MORE]

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Founded in 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is now the largest pediatric hospital in Southern California and performs more complex procedures than any other hospital in the area. It is also considered one of the country’s premier teaching hospitals. [READ MORE]

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia got its start in 1855, when Francis West Lewis, MD, T. Hewson Bache, MD, and R.A.F. Penrose, MD, decided to open the nation’s first hospital focused exclusively on treating children. It opened with 12 beds and served 67 inpatients. Now, CHOP has more than 50 locations where providers treat more than 1 million children annually. [READ MORE]

The Christ Hospital (Cincinnati).The Christ Hospital can trace its roots back to 1889. That’s when Isabella Thoburn, a teacher, nurse, and missionary, came to Cincinnati and opened Christ’s Hospital, a 10-bed facility. Now part of The Christ Hospital Health Network, the hospital works to fulfill its mission: “To provide the finest patient experience and improve the health of our community.” [READ MORE]

Christiana Care Health System (Newark, Del.). Christiana Care dates back to 1890, and it has since become one of 20 U.S. hospitals with the most patient admissions each year and one of the country’s largest community-based teaching hospitals. [READ MORE]

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s history dates back to 1883, when it opened in a three-bedroom house as the Hospital of the Protestant Episcopal Church, thanks to the insistence of three Cincinnati residents. Now a full-service pediatric academic medical center, Cincinnati Children’s is a leader in medical innovation and one of the top children’s hospitals in the country. [READ MORE]

Cleveland Clinic. Founded in 1921 by four physicians who wanted to see a healthcare model centered on patient care and medical research, Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit, multispecialty academic medical center with 1,450 beds on its main campus and 4,450 beds systemwide. Cleveland Clinic operates more than 75 outpatient centers in northern Ohio and has 3,034 physicians and scientists. [READ MORE]

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon N.H.). With a more than 120-year history, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is New Hampshire’s only academic medical center — affiliated with the school of medicine at Hanover-based Dartmouth College — and is the only Level I trauma center in the state. [READ MORE]

Duke University Medical Center (Durham, N.C.). Buchanan Duke, a talented businessman who made fortunes in the tobacco and textile industries, left millions after his death in 1925 with the specification that some money go toward a medical school and hospital. Duke University Medical Center has since become a pioneer in medicine and a home to many medical firsts. [READ MORE]

Emory University Hospital (Atlanta). Emory University Hospital is affiliated with the city’s first medical school, which was founded in the decade following the Civil War. The hospital, which was established in March 1904, is now a mainstay in the Atlanta community and the state. [READ MORE]

Geisinger Medical Center (Danville, Pa.). Geisinger Medical Center is named after Abigail Geisinger, the daughter of a wagon-maker who built the hospital in the early 1900s at age 85. Harold Foss, MD, the hospital’s first surgeon and director, helped grow the hospital from its original 70 beds into what is now Geisinger Health System, the nation’s largest rural health services organization. [READ MORE]

Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center. Founded in 1888 with just 12 beds, Hackensack University Medical Center was the first hospital in New Jersey’s Bergen County. Now, the facility is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. [READ MORE]

Henry Ford Hospital (Detroit). Automobile pioneer Henry Ford blazed yet another trail by financing and leading the building of Henry Ford Hospital, which opened its doors to patients in 1915 with accommodations for 48 patients. Today, the 802-bed hospital is Henry Ford Health System’s flagship and an affiliate to Wayne State University’s School of Medicine. [READ MORE]

Hospital for Special Surgery (New York City). Established in 1863 as a hospital to treat impoverished children with disabilities related to musculoskeletal diseases, the Hospital for Special Surgery is the oldest orthopedic hospital in the nation. Each year, more hip surgeries and knee replacement procedures are performed at HSS than any other hospital in the country. [READ MORE]

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). The 789-bed Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1765 as the nation’s first teaching hospital. It includes an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals and researchers who have made significant contributions to medicine over the years, including the first general vaccine against pneumonia. [READ MORE]

Houston Methodist Hospital. Houston Methodist Hospital opened in 1924. Throughout the years, the hospital’s physicians have pioneered various medical procedures, including the world’s first multiple-organ transplant in the 1960s. The hospital has also been the site of a number of medical innovations, including a minimally invasive procedure to repair brain aneurysms. [READ MORE]

Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital (Indianapolis). For more than 100 years, Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital has maintained its position as one of the most well-respected healthcare facilities in the nation. The 828-bed teaching hospital is partnered with the Indiana University School of Medicine, the second-largest medical school in the country. [READ MORE]

Inova Fairfax Hospital (Falls Church, Va.). Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Health System’s flagship hospital, opened its doors in 1961 with 96 beds. The hospital has since grown to an 833-bed regional medical center and teaching facility — and a birthplace to tens of thousands of babies each year. [READ MORE]

The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore). The Johns Hopkins Hospital opened in 1889, four years before the university’s medical school. It was established at the bequest of its namesake, who was a successful Baltimore merchant. The hospital is the birthplace of many standards in medicine, including grand rounds and the use of latex surgical gloves. [READ MORE]

Lahey Hospital and Medical Center (Burlington, Mass.). Lahey Hospital and Medical Center dates back to 1923, when Frank Lahey, MD, founded a group practice that — with several specialties under one roof — was considered unconventional at the time. Dr. Lahey would later become known one of the greatest influences on American medicine, thanks in part to the model’s success. [READ MORE]

Lancaster (Pa.) General Hospital. Lancaster General Hospital began serving patients in December 1893 in a three-story brick residence. Almost a century later, Lawrence I. Bonchk, MD, performed the country’s first open-heart surgery at the hospital. [READ MORE]

Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center (Portland, Ore.). In 1875, Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center was founded as Good Samaritan Hospital by the Rev. B. Wistar Morris, who came from Philadelphia to become the Episcopal Bishop of Oregon. He believed that caring for he sick was “eminently Christian work” and raised money to build the hospital. [READ MORE]

Lehigh Valley Hospital (Allentown, Pa.). Situated approximately 95 miles outside New York City, Lehigh Valley Hospital is the flagship of Lehigh Valley Health Network, with roots dating back to 1899. With more than 750 beds, the hospital has ties to a network of more than 1,340 primary care and specialty physicians. [READ MORE]

 Loyola University Medical Center (Maywood, Ill.). Founded in 1969, Loyola University Medical Center is a teaching hospital 13 miles west of downtown Chicago that is anchored by the Catholic Jesuit promise to not only treat illnesses, but the whole person — “mind, body and spirit.” [READ MORE]

Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston). Massachusetts General Hospital opened its doors in 1821 and became the first teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School within the hospital’s first year of operation. It has since been home to medical discoveries that no patient today could imagine going without. [READ MORE]

Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.). Mayo Clinic dates back to 1864 when William Worrall Mayo, MD, opened a private medical practice in Rochester. Now, the hospital has an international presence and is known for pioneering an approach to teamwork that sets the Mayo Clinic apart. [READ MORE]

Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, S.C.). MUSC Medical Center dates back to 1955, when it opened with the help of a $4 million state bill as a replacement site for Roper Hospital, the state’s first teaching hospital that was damaged by an earthquake decades prior. [READ MORE]

MedStar Washington (D.C.) Hospital Center. Founded in 1958 through the merger of three specialty hospitals, 926-bed MedStar Washington Hospital Center has grown to become the largest private hospital in the country’s capital. This teaching hospital carries the reputation of being the place where other hospitals send their most complicated cases. [READ MORE]

Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center (Houston). Houston is a town of many hospitals, but the sizable Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center continues to make a name for itself. The hospital continues to add more services and clinical programs to its already broad collection. [READ MORE]

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York City). Founded in 1884, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is the oldest and largest private cancer center in the world. It is also home to one of the largest clinical research programs in the world. [READ MORE]

Montefiore Medical Center (New York City). Jewish philanthropists founded Montefiore Medical Center in 1884 to aid chronically ill people, then calling the hospital the Montefiore Home for Chronic Invalids. Throughout the 1920s, the hospital blossomed as a highly accessible and diverse healthcare provider in its borough and has maintained that role since. [READ MORE]

Mount Sinai Hospital (New York City). Mount Sinai Hospital is an internationally-acclaimed facility, recognized for its advancements in research, education and patient care. The hospital was founded in 1852 and has since then grown to a 1,171-bed facility employing 2,500 physicians. [READ MORE]

The Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha). The Nebraska Medical Center was founded in 1997 through the merger of two longstanding hospitals: Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital, founded in 1869, and University Hospital, founded in 1917. Today, The Nebraska Medical Center is the largest healthcare facility in the state and includes more than 1,000 physicians. [READ MORE]

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (New York City). NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive hospitals — with approximately 2,600 beds across five campuses — that helps set the pace for medical research and innovation. [READ MORE]

NorthShore University HealthSystem Evanston Hospital. NorthShore University HealthSystem Evanston Hospital opened in 1891, and its contributions to clinical research date back the 1920s, including medical breakthroughs in the treatment of scarlet fever and whooping cough. Today the 755-bed hospital is the flagship of NorthShore University HealthSystem, the primary teaching affiliate of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. [READ MORE]

Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago). Two of Chicago’s oldest hospitals — Passavant Memorial, founded in 1865, and Wesley Memorial, founded in 1888 — merged in 1972 to form what is now known as Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The teaching hospital for Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern Memorial holds the unique distinction of being the third tallest hospital in the U.S. and the fifth tallest hospital in the world. [READ MORE]

Novant Presbyterian Medical Center (Charlotte, N.C.). Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center opened in 1903 with 20 beds. It has since expanded to 622 beds and diversified its clinical offerings to become one of the state’s most comprehensive healthcare providers. [READ MORE]

NYU Langone Medical Center (New York City). Founded in 1841, NYU Langone Medical Center is home to a number of scientific and medical advancements, such as discovering the mosquito transmission of yellow fever, creating the first department of forensic medicine in the country and revealing DNA’s role in genetic transformation. Additionally, four Nobel Prizes in physiology or medicine have been awarded to NYU Medical Center alumni or faculty. [READ MORE]

Ochsner Medical Center (New Orleans). Ochsner Medical Center is a 473-bed acute-care hospital with roots dating back to 1942. That’s when surgeon Alton Ochsner, MD, and four colleagues opened The Ochsner Clinic, the first physician group practice in the Deep South. [READ MORE]

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (Columbus). OSU’s Wexner Medical Center’s origin dates back to 1834, to the founding of the Willoughby (Ohio) Medical Center of Lake Erie. After moving to Columbus in 1846 and several expansions and name changes, the medical center as it is today, named in honor of benefactor Leslie H. Wexner, is a national leader in research, education and patient care excellence. [READ MORE]

Oregon Health & Science University (Portland). Oregon Health & Science University, a 544-bed hospital established in 1974, is the state’s only public academic health center and one that has made several contributions to various specialties over the years. [READ MORE]

Providence Portland (Ore.) Medical Center. The history of Providence Portland Medical Center traces back to the Sisters of Providence, who arrived in Washington State in 1856 and began caring for the sick. Today the hospital a medical staff of more than 1,000 and is the birthplace to more than 2,500 babies each year. [READ MORE]

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles). Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center was founded in 1955, but opened in a new, 10-story facility as Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center in 2008. The hospital has earned several distinctions for clinical excellence and established itself as a leader in organ transplantation. [READ MORE]

Rush University Medical Center (Chicago). Rush University Medical Center was established with Rush Medical College, which received its charter in 1837, just two days before the city of Chicago was officially incorporated. Today, the medical center has more than 400 full- and part-time physicians on staff and is the preferred provider for the Chicago Bulls NBA team. [READ MORE]

Scottsdale (Ariz.) Healthcare Shea Medical Center. Established in 1984 as a small hospital near Loop 101 and Shea Boulevard outside Scottsdale, Shea Medical Center has grown to become a reliable provider of care and medical research. [READ MORE]

Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla (Calif.). Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla was established in 1924 by American philanthropist and journalist Ellen Browning Scripps. It is now part of San Diego-based Scripps Health, a private, nonprofit health system with four hospitals and more than 2,600 affiliated physicians. [READ MORE]

Sentara Norfolk (Va.) General Hospital. Sentara Norfolk General Hospital’s origins date back to 1888, when the 25-bed Retreat for the Sick was founded in downtown Norfolk. Now, the 525-bed hospital is flagship for the 12-hospital Sentara Healthcare system. [READ MORE]

Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital (Grand Rapids, Mich.). Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital began as a small, furnished house to care for elderly, homeless and ill parishioners of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in 1873. Butterworth Hospital has since involved into the 1,048-bed flagship of Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids. [READ MORE]

St. Francis Hospital (Roslyn, N.Y.). In 1922, St. Francis Hospital began as a plot of land called “Elderfields,” which was used as a summer camp for New York’s inner-city children and run by the Sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. Later, due to an epidemic of children suffering from rheumatic fever, the house and land became a children’s cardiac hospital of sorts. [READ MORE]

St. Joseph‘s Hospital and Medical Center (Phoenix). When the Sisters of Mercy first came to Phoenix in 1892, their goal was to start a parish school. But after seeing the suffering of tuberculosis patients, they started a sanitarium three years later that today is known as St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. [READ MORE]

Stanford Hospital & Clinics (Palo Alto, Calif.). Leland Stanford, a famous politician and railroad tycoon from the 1800s, founded Stanford University in 1885. After adopting the medical school located in San Francisco, Stanford Medicine came into its own in the early 1900s. Today, Stanford Hospital & Clinics stands as one of the most highly acclaimed hospitals in the world. [READ MORE]

Sutter Davis (Calif.) Hospital. In 2013, the 48-bed Sutter Davis Hospital put itself on the national map after it captured the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award — the highest award bestowed annually by the White House for innovation, leadership and quality. [READ MORE]

Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital. Tampa General Hospital, a 1,018-bed academic medical center in the heart of Tampa, started out as a 186-bed municipal hospital in 1927. The hospital is now considered one of the highest-performing hospitals in its state. [READ MORE]

Texas Children’s Hospital (Houston). When Texas Children’s Hospital opened its doors in 1954 after several years of planning, it was one of the most progressive pediatric-based hospitals at the time. Texas Children’s started as a three-story, 106-bed facility and has bloomed into a 595-bed children’s research center with more than 5,300 employees. [READ MORE]

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (Philadelphia). Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, born in 1825, is one of the preeminent academic medical centers in Philadelphia. It started as the Infirmary of the Jefferson Medical College, and by 1877, it opened a 125-bed hospital, becoming the first in the nation to be affiliated with a medical school. [READ MORE]

UAB Hospital (Birmingham, Ala.). UAB Hospital was established in 1945 as the teaching hospital for the University of Alabama School of Medicine. Today, the 1,046-bed facility stands as the centerpiece of UAB Health System and is the largest academic medical center in Alabama. [READ MORE]

UC San Diego Medical Center. The history of the 392-bed UC San Diego Medical Center traces back to 1966, when the University of California assumed the lease of the former county hospital and began operating the hospital as University Hospital. By 1968, the first class entered the UC San Diego School of Medicine, and the hospital embarked on its path to become one of the leading healthcare institutions in the West. [READ MORE]

UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco). In 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco and the rest of the northern California coast, resulting in devastating fires. The University of California decided to build a teaching hospital on the Parnassus campus in the wake of those disasters, founding what is today UCSF Medical Center. [READ MORE]

UF Health Shands Hospital (Gainesville, Fla.). After William A. Shands was elected as a Florida state senator in 1940, he worked tirelessly to ensure the Gainesville community had a teaching hospital. Two years after the University of Florida College of Medicine was established in 1956, the UF Teaching Hospital opened its doors. [READ MORE]

 UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). In 1884, Cedar Rapids was one of the fastest-growing cities in Iowa, but it lacked a hospital. That May, community members laid down the cornerstone of St. Luke’s Hospital, which today is one of the largest hospitals within West Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health. [READ MORE]

University Hospital (Salt Lake City). University Hospital, the flagship facility of Salt Lake City-based University of Utah Health Care, opened to the public in 1965 as the University of Utah Medical Center. After several expansions and additions, the hospital has become a beacon for both high-quality patient care in Utah and breakthrough medical research as an affiliate of the University of Utah School of Medicine. [READ MORE]

University Hospitals Case Medical Center (Cleveland). UH Case Medical Center, a 1,032-bed tertiary academic medical center, formally affiliated with the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1895 after a longtime hospital trustee returned from a visit to Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Hospital. He wanted to bring academic medicine’s elements of patient care and clinical research to Cleveland. [READ MORE]

The University of Arizona Medical Center (Tucson). The University of Arizona Medical Center’s parent corporation, The University of Arizona Health Network, was formed in 2010 as a merger between the hospital’s predecessor, University Medical Center, and University Physicians Healthcare. Today, the main campus, opened in 1971, has 479 beds and has become a leading provider in the Southwest. [READ MORE]

University of Chicago Medicine. University of Chicago Medicine got its start in 1927. The university board of trustees set aside money to create an academic medical center in 1916, but World War I hindered the development. During the 1950s and 1960s, University of Chicago Medicine doubled in size, and today it stands as one of the preeminent clinical hubs, situated in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. [READ MORE]

University of Colorado Hospital (Aurora). University of Colorado Hospital, the crown jewel of the newly formed University of Colorado Health, was founded in 1921. The hospital is the only academic medical center in the region, and physician faculty members — part of the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine — have kept the Rocky Mountain area at the forefront of research and medical treatments. [READ MORE]

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (Iowa City). University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics was founded in 1898 as a 65-bed hospital with a 200-seat amphitheater for clinical instruction. After many growth spurts, the 705-bed teaching hospital and Level I trauma center employs 1,593 physicians and will open a new children’s hospital in 2016. [READ MORE]

The University of Kansas Hospital (Kansas City). The Kansas medical scene came to a crescendo in the early 1900s as the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Lawrence was created. Then, in 1906, Simeon Bell, MD, donated the land and cash to establish the Eleanor Taylor Bell Hospital, named after his wife, in what today is known as The University of Kansas Hospital. [READ MORE]

University of Maryland Medical Center (Baltimore). The University of Maryland Medical Center is one of the country’s oldest academic medical centers, founded in 1823 as the Baltimore Infirmary. Over the years, the 816-bed hospital has become a staple institution for tertiary and quaternary care in the state. [READ MORE]

University of Michigan Medical Center (Ann Arbor). In 1848, the University of Michigan board of regents established a three-member medical department, today known as the University of Michigan Medical School, which eventually led the opening of U-M’s academic medical center — the first university-owned medical facility in the United States. [READ MORE]

University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview (Minneapolis). Groundbreaking treatments and technology, as well as innovative partnerships with the University of Minnesota Medical School and University of Minnesota Physicians, have made University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview one of the most highly regarded academic medical centers in the country. [READ MORE]

University of North Carolina Hospitals (Chapel Hill, N.C.). Founded in 1952 as North Carolina Memorial Hospital, UNC Hospitals has evolved into one of the most prestigious public-owned academic medical centers in the nation. [READ MORE]

University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center. University of Rochester Medical Center was founded in 1921 after two men, Abraham Flexner and Benjamin Rush Rhees, MD, pushed for the idea of a medical school and hospital at a university. One of the first people to help fund URMC was George Eastman, founder of photography company Eastman Kodak. [READ MORE]

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston). Today, MD Anderson stands as one of the most prestigious teaching hospitals and cancer institutions. But it dates back to the early 1900s, when Monroe Dunaway Anderson and two others founded one of the most successful cotton businesses in the South. [READ MORE]

University of Virginia Medical Center (Charlottesville). The history of University of Virginia Medical Center dates back to the days of Thomas Jefferson, who founded the University of Virginia School of Medicine. The school dedicated its first hospital in 1901, a 25-bed facility that has since become a leading academic medical center in the state. [READ MORE]

University of Washington Medical Center (Seattle). In 1959, University of Washington Medical Center opened as University Hospital, one of the country’s smallest teaching hospitals at the time. However, UW Medical Center now sits as the flagship of UW Medicine, one of the most influential academic health systems in the Northwest. [READ MORE]

University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics (Madison). The Wisconsin legislature established the 566-bed University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in 1924, originally naming it Wisconsin General Hospital. The hospital has become a critical teaching facility in the Midwest, earning national recognition for its care and research. [READ MORE]

UPMC Presbyterian (Pittsburgh). In 1893, Louise Lyle, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, founded UPMC Presbyterian, which was known as Presbyterian Hospital of Pittsburgh at the time. More than 120 years later, UPMC has become a national and global healthcare powerhouse. [READ MORE]

UT Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas). The history of UT Southwestern Medical Center began in 1939, when Dallas clinical leaders and citizens organized the Southwestern Medical Foundation to promote medical education in the Dallas area. The Southwestern Medical College officially formed as the 68th medical school in 1943, and the academic medical center has grown exponentially since then. [READ MORE]

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.). Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been around for almost 140 years, and no hospital in Tennessee is more highly awarded or recognized than VUMC. [READ MORE]

Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center (Richmond, Va.). Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center has a rich place in American history, as it was affiliated with the only Southern medical school to graduate students during the Civil War. It continues to further the health of its patients, and the United States Armed Forces, today. [READ MORE]

Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle). Virginia Mason comes from humble beginnings. It was established in 1920 as an 80-bed hospital with six physician offices, named after the founders’ daughters. Today, the 336-bed hospital employs more than 445 physicians and is an established champion for patient safety. [READ MORE]

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (Winston-Salem, N.C.). In 1941, the Wake Forest School of Medicine joined with North Carolina Baptist Hospital, creating what today is now known as Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, one of the more progressive academic medicine sites in the country. [READ MORE]

Woman’s Hospital (Baton Rouge, La.). In the 1950s, 19 physicians in Louisiana wanted to build a specialty hospital that catered specifically to the needs of women and newborns. By 1968, those physicians turned that goal into a reality, opening the doors to Woman’s Hospital, one of the first U.S. specialty hospitals for women. [READ MORE]

Yale-New Haven (Conn.) Hospital. Yale-New Haven Hospital, the 1,541-bed teaching hospital for Yale School of Medicine, dates back to 1826. As the first hospital in Connecticut, Yale-New Haven has played a distinct role in American history. [READ MORE]