AMERICA NEEDS SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE HOSPITALS

We set the standard by measuring what matters.

America's Most Socially Responsible Hospitals, 2025

June 24, 2025 - We analyzed the performance of more than 2,700 acute care hospitals, 800 critical access hospitals, and 300 hospital systems nationwide. Find out who made the Honor Roll and achieved the highest marks on Social Responsibility and over 50 other metrics.

Financial assistance & debt collection practices

June 2, 2025 - An examination of the policies of 2,500 U.S. hospitals reveals a chaotic patchwork of practices that leaves patients vulnerable to confusion and medical debt. Patients with identical income and medical needs could receive free care at one hospital, yet face collections or lawsuits at another.

Making hospital tax breaks work for communities

April 15, 2025 - Nonprofit hospitals are exempt from most taxes, a benefit worth billions each year. While some hospitals give back to communities in amounts that exceed their tax breaks, others fall millions short. An analysis of fair share spending in 20 states.

Unnecessary Back Surgeries

November 14, 2024 - Every eight minutes an unnecessary back surgery is performed on a older adult. Over three years, U.S. hospitals performed more than 200,000 of these unnecessary procedures at a cost of $2 billion to Medicare.

Unnecessary Stents

October 31, 2023 - While coronary stents can be lifesaving for someone having a heart attack, a large body of research over the past decade shows that stents for stable heart disease don’t benefit patients more than heart medications alone. Yet hospitals continue to perform these procedures, wasting billions of dollars and exposing thousands of patients to risk of harm. How often are these procedures happening, and where? How much are we wasting on these low-value services? And what can we do to prevent unnecessary care?

Racial Inclusivity

September 19, 2023 - Most hospitals say advancing health equity in their communities is a priority, and our latest report examines just how well they’re doing. The Lown Institute has ranked over 3,000 U.S. hospitals on how well they serve patients of color and identified 11 hospital markets with the highest levels of hospital segregation.

Socially responsible hospitals perform well across three areas:

Health Equity

Which hospitals are the most inclusive in America, invest the most in community health, and pay their workers fairly?

a mother holds her infant close while the father kisses the baby's cheek

Value of Care

Which hospitals are best at avoiding harmful unnecessary care and deliver the best outcomes at a low cost?

surgeon's surround a person on the operating table

Patient Outcomes

Does your hospital do well at keeping patients alive and preventing return trips to the hospital? We measure success at avoiding patient safety errors and patient satisfaction.

Vikas Saini, 2022
Vikas Saini
President
Lown Institute

Our communities deserve socially responsible hospitals — and the ones at the top of our list set a great example."