Three Prime Healthcare Hospitals Named Among Nation’s Top 100 Hospitals by Modern Healthcare and Premier

The independent analysis places the hospitals in the top 4% of the nation

ONTARIO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prime Healthcare is proud to announce that three of its hospitals have been named to the prestigious Modern Healthcare 100 Top Hospitals powered by Premier list for 2026, a national recognition of excellence in clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, and patient-centered care.

Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation hospitals have been recognized 75 times on the 100 Top Hospitals list, underscoring a consistent standard of excellence across the system. The 2026 analysis also contains metrics highlighting hospitals’ contributions to community health, health equity, and social responsibility, which are values deeply embedded in Prime’s mission.

The Prime Healthcare hospitals recognized on the 2026 list include:

• Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville, California – Nine-time honoree.
• East Liverpool City Hospital in East Liverpool, Ohio – Nine-time honoree and three-time Everest Award recipient for sustained quality (2018–2020).
• Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, Texas – First-time honoree.

This recognition is one of the most respected distinctions in healthcare benchmarking because hospitals do not apply for the award, and recipients do not pay to promote it. The recognition validates that hospitals consistently deliver strong patient outcomes, high standards of safety, and efficient, effective care.

“Premier’s 100 Top Hospitals program recognizes healthcare organizations that consistently deliver high-quality care while improving operational and financial performance,” said David Zito, President of Performance Services at Premier. “By highlighting top performers and providing transparent, data-driven insights, this program helps hospitals nationwide identify opportunities to enhance care delivery, strengthen financial sustainability and improve outcomes for the communities they serve.”

Premier’s annual 100 Top Hospitals^® program evaluated more than 2,500 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals nationwide using publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Hospitals were assessed across multiple performance domains, including mortality, complications, infection rates, patient satisfaction, and financial efficiency.

“This recognition reflects the extraordinary commitment of our physicians, nurses, caregivers, and leaders who work every day to deliver high-quality, compassionate care,” said Sunny Bhatia, MD, President and Chief Medical Officer of Prime Healthcare. “We are grateful to Modern Healthcare and Premier for recognizing what matters most: clinical excellence, patient safety, and the dedication of care teams who bring skill, compassion, and hope to patients and communities across the country.”

East Liverpool City Hospital and Knapp Medical Center are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to preserving access to quality care in underserved communities.

“For patients and families, this recognition is a powerful affirmation that they can trust their local hospitals to provide some of the very best care in the nation,” said Kavitha Bhatia, MD, President and Chair of the Prime Healthcare Foundation. “These honors are based on outcomes and performance, and they reflect Prime’s commitment to ensuring that communities with the most need have access to high-quality, compassionate care close to home. That is what brings hope, healing, and confidence to the patients and families we serve.”

Prime Healthcare is a physician-founded and physician-led national health system with 55 hospitals across 15 states, with a long-standing record of strengthening hospitals and improving access to care in communities nationwide. Patients benefit from receiving care at their local hospitals as part of a nationally recognized system whose hospitals have been consistently honored for quality and performance.

Premier’s analysis found that this year’s top-performing hospitals delivered stronger outcomes while operating more efficiently than peer institutions. Premier stated that the data suggests Medicare inpatients could include more than 279,000 additional lives saved, more than 477,000 additional patients complication-free, more than $14.3 billion in inpatient cost savings, and more than 21,700 fewer 30-day readmissions if all hospitals performed at the level of the 2026 honorees.

To learn more about the 100 Top Hospitals® methodology and this year’s honorees, visit www.100tophospitals.com.

About Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation:

Prime Healthcare is an award-winning health system operating 55 hospitals and more than 360 outpatient locations in 15 states, providing over 3.0 million patient visits annually. It is one of the nation’s leading health systems, with more than 60,000 staff and affiliated physicians. Twenty-one of the Prime Healthcare hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity. Based in Ontario, California, Prime Healthcare is nationally recognized for award-winning quality care and has been named a 10 Top and 15 Top Health System by Truven Health Analytics. Its hospitals have been named among the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” 75 times, and Prime Healthcare is one of Healthgrades’ most awarded health systems in the nation for patient safety. To learn more, please visit primehealthcare.com.

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