UCLA Health's Prominent Ranking in U.S. News & World Report

UCLA Health has consistently been recognized as a leading healthcare provider, earning high rankings and accolades from various organizations. Among these, the U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals" rankings stand out as a significant indicator of UCLA Health's commitment to excellence. This article delves into UCLA Health's performance in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, highlighting its national and regional standing, specialty rankings, and factors contributing to its success.

Overview of UCLA Medical Center's Ranking

UCLA Medical Center, located in Los Angeles, CA, has earned a distinguished place on the U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals Honor Roll. The medical center is nationally ranked in 14 adult and 10 pediatric specialties, with high-performing ratings in 23 adult procedures and conditions. As a general medical and surgical facility and a teaching hospital, UCLA Medical Center demonstrates a commitment to comprehensive care and medical education.

U.S. News & World Report generates its hospital rankings by evaluating data from nearly 5,000 hospitals. The evaluation of UCLA Medical Center includes data from UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital and CHOC Children's Hospital, particularly in the assessment of Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery and Neonatology.

Sustained Excellence and National Recognition

UCLA Health has consistently demonstrated its commitment to providing high-quality care. UCLA Health has earned a place on the publication’s Best Hospitals Honor Roll for the 36th consecutive year. UCLA Health once again placed No. In addition, this year, the distinction was reserved for only 20 hospitals or health systems among more than 4,400 evaluated across 15 medical specialties and 22 procedures and conditions.

Top Rankings in Specialties

UCLA Health earned top 10 national rankings in 12 specialties: cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and GI surgery; geriatrics; neurology and neurosurgery; ophthalmology; orthopedics; psychiatry; pulmonology and lung surgery; rheumatology; and urology. Additionally, UCLA Health’s ear, nose and throat and gynecology care areas rated #12, and gynecology was #21 nationally.

Regional Recognition

UCLA Health ranked #1 in California and the Los Angeles metro area for the third consecutive year, while climbing to #3 on the national honor roll. UCLA Health continued as the top hospital in California and in the Los Angeles metro area. All five UC academic health centers that own or operate hospitals were among the best in the state out of 416 California hospitals evaluated. UCH hospitals further distinguished themselves by being nationally ranked in two or more specialties. Only 140 of the more than 1,800 hospitals eligible for the analysis were ranked in the top 50 in one or more specialty.

Factors Contributing to High Rankings

Several factors contribute to UCLA Health's consistently high rankings in U.S. News & World Report:

Expertise and Dedication of Staff: The exceptional dedication and expertise of healthcare professionals, researchers, and staff are critical to UCLA Health's success.
Comprehensive Care: UCLA Health offers an integrated network of primary and specialty care services at more than 280 clinics across Southern California and the Central Coast and at five medical centers and hospitals.
Academic Excellence: As a comprehensive academic medical system, UCLA Health benefits from physicians and scientists working together to research new ways to diagnose and treat diseases. The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA received $303 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health in 2016.
Quality and Accountability: Vizient recognized UCLA Health with the 2017 Rising Star Award for making significant improvements in year-over-year performance in quality and accountability.
Commitment to Patient Experience: Healthgrades recognized UCLA Health with the 2023 and 2021 Outstanding Patient Experience Awards, highlighting the organization's focus on patient-centered care.

U.S. News & World Report Ranking Methodology

U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals rankings involve a comprehensive evaluation process. News Best Hospitals are divided into two types of evaluations: 15 specialty rankings (11 for Children’s Hospitals) and 22 procedure and condition ratings. The specialty rankings are for patients looking for a hospital that excels in treating more serious cases. Hospitals are ranked from 1 to 50 in each specialty. Hospitals not in the top 50 but in the top 10% of all hospitals evaluated are rated “high performing.” Rankings in 12 of the specialties rely largely on objective, publicly available data, such as Medicare claims, and focus on patient outcomes, such as survival rate and the rate at which patients were able to return home rather than needing additional care; patient experience; care-related factors, such as the level of nurse staffing and patient services; and expert opinion based on three years of surveyed specialists who named hospitals to which they would refer their sickest patients. The final three specialties rely only on the expert opinion survey, as much of the care is provided on an outpatient basis and outcomes are not related to survival but rather management of symptoms. The data for Best Children’s Hospitals was collected via an extensive hospital data submission survey as these data are not available in Medicare claims.

The 22 commonly needed procedures and conditions are rated as ‘high performing,’ ‘as expected’ or ‘evaluated.’ We analyzed data from multiple sources, including Medicare and Medicare Advantage claims, to assess the hospital's risk-adjusted outcomes, such as 30-day survival, 30-day readmission and length of stay. These measure how well the hospital performed at the time of care and its ability to prevent an unplanned repeat visit to the hospital. We also factored in variables linked to quality of care, including the number of patients treated, nurse staffing & communication, and participation in public data registries. Patient satisfaction scores from a nationally-administered survey of patients, known as HCAHPS, were factored into the ratings for all procedures and conditions. News Honor Roll, we used both rankings and ratings to identify the 20 top-performing hospitals nationally (10 for Children’s Hospitals). We also recognized about 500 facilities that provide top care in their states, cities and regions as Best Regional Hospitals based on their performance in single-focus care.

The rankings are based on measures such as risk-adjusted survival and discharge-to-home rates, volume and staffing of nursing, among other care-related indicators.

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Patient Experience and Satisfaction

Patient experience is a crucial component of the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Scores are based on surveys given to patients after leaving the hospital. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey is required of most hospitals and asks patients to rate their hospital stay. Each hospital receives an overall score in each category.

Key aspects of patient experience include:

Overall Satisfaction: How the patient felt about their hospital stay and discharge overall.
Willingness to Recommend: Willingness of patients to recommend this hospital to others.
Hospital Facility Communication: Effective communication between healthcare providers and patients.
Patient Safety: Ensuring a safe environment for patients during their hospital stay.
Listens to Patients: Healthcare providers actively listening to and addressing patient concerns.

Socioeconomic Representation and Access to Care

UCLA Health is committed to providing equitable access to care for diverse populations. The rankings consider socioeconomic representation in access to care, including:

Representation of Low-Income Patients: How well Medicaid patients are represented in the population treated by the hospital.
Representation of People from Vulnerable Neighborhoods: The percentage of patients treated by the hospital who live in more disadvantaged neighborhoods, based on the Area Deprivation Index.
Demographic Representation: The percentage of patients treated by the hospital for elective procedures compared to the community. This includes representation of non-white patients, Black patients, Asian American and Pacific Islander patients, Hispanic patients, and Native American patients.

Outcomes Disparities

The rankings also assess how successful the hospital is in enabling Black patients to live at home during their first 30 days of recovery, with no time or minimal time spent in a hospital, ER, or nursing home, compared to White patients at that hospital.

Accreditations and Designations

UCLA Health has received numerous accreditations and designations, reflecting its commitment to quality and safety:

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The Joint Commission Accreditation: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center received the maximum three-year accreditation from The Joint Commission.
Primary Stroke Center Certification: UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center is certified as a "Primary Stroke Center" by The Joint Commission.
Trauma Center Designation: The American College of Surgeons designated Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center as the highest-level Trauma Center.
STEMI Heart Attack Receiving Center Accreditation: The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Emergency Medical Services Agency accredited Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center as a ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) Heart Attack Receiving Center.
Baby-Friendly Designation: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center received a "baby-friendly" designation from the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in 2017.

Workplace and Culture

UCLA Health has been recognized for its commitment to maintaining an inspiring and supportive work environment:

Forbes America’s Best Employers: Forbes recognized UCLA Health as one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2025 and 2024.
Forbes America’s Dream Employers: Forbes named UCLA Health as one of America’s Dream Employers for 2025.
Newsweek America's Most Loved Workplaces: Newsweek recognized UCLA Health as one of America's 100 Most Loved Workplaces in 2024.
Forbes America's Best Employers by State: Forbes named UCLA Health as one of America's Best Employers by State in 2024.

Leadership Recognition

Johnese Spisso, President of UCLA Health and CEO of the UCLA Hospital System, has been recognized on Becker’s Hospital Review's 2024 list of "Great Healthcare Leaders to Know" for healthcare innovation, inclusivity, access to quality care, and the transformation of the healthcare system.

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