Duke Regional Hospital in Durham, N.C., tops the list of the most socially responsible acute care hospitals in the U.S., according to the 2025 Lown Hospitals Index released June 24.
The nonpartisan healthcare think tank evaluated more than 2,700 acute care hospitals nationwide across 54 performance metrics focused on health equity, patient outcomes, and value of care. Despite persistent challenges — including workforce shortages, rising costs and proposed Medicaid cuts — the Lown Institute emphasized that this year’s Honor Roll demonstrates that equitable, high-value care is achievable.
The 25 most socially responsible acute care hospitals in the U.S., per Lown Institute:
- Duke Regional Hospital (Durham, N.C.)
- Fort Loudoun Medical Center (Lenoir City, Tenn.)
- Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Pflugerville (Texas)
- Denver Health Main Campus
- Methodist Medical Center (Oak Ridge, Tenn.)
- Prisma Health Baptist Hospital (Columbia, S.C.)
- TriStar Horizon Medical Center (Dickson, Tenn.)
- Sharon Hospital (Sharon, Conn.)
- Inspira Medical Center Vineland (N.J.)
- Southern California Hospital at Hollywood
- Presbyterian Santa Fe (N.M.) Medical Center
- Stillwater (Okla.) Medical Center
- Adventist Health Portland (Ore.)
- St. Luke’s Hospital-Upper Bucks Campus (Quakertown, Pa.)
- UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital (Fort Collins, Colo.)
- LDS Hospital (Salt Lake City)
- Riverside University Health System Medical Center (Moreno Valley, Calif.)
- L.A. Downtown Medical Center (Los Angeles)
- St. Luke’s Hospital-Easton (Pa.) Campus
- Saint Francis Hospital (Wilmington, Del.)
- Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center (Knoxville, Tenn.)
- Roxborough Memorial Hospital (Philadelphia)
- Christian Hospital (Saint Louis)
- East Liverpool (Ohio) City Hospital
- Rush University Medical Center (Chicago)
“These hospitals show that no matter how tough the environment gets, putting patients and communities first is always possible,” Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute, said in a news release. “Those returning to the list prove that equitable, high-value care doesn’t have to be rare, it’s a standard hospitals can uphold year after year.”
The Lown Index is based on publicly available data, including traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage claims, CMS datasets on patient safety, patient experience, and hospital costs, and Internal Revenue Service Form 990 data
Click here for more details about the methodology here.
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