Evanston Hospital Among Top 10% In U.S. For Patient Safety

EVANSTON, IL — An Evanston hospital made the Healthgrades 2026 list of Top Hospitals in the U.S. for Patient safety.

Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston ranks in the top 10 percent of hospitals in the nation for patient safety. Hospitals that earn this honor are recognized for providing excellent care to patients by preventing infections, medical errors and other preventable complications.

"When our patients feel secure in their care, they are more likely to communicate openly with their care teams, supporting greater diagnostic accuracy and more effective treatment planning. In this way, a safe hospital environment also becomes a more compassionate and successful one," Saint Francis Hospital said in a statement.

Healthgrades, an online platform that helps people find and compare doctors, specialists and hospitals, announced Tuesday that 438 hospitals in 40 states met the criteria for its 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Award. They represent the top 10 percent of hospitals nationwide for patient safety.

The Patient Safety Excellence Award is based on an analysis of federal hospital data that evaluates how well hospitals protect patients from serious complications during inpatient care.

“The data behind this year’s Patient Safety Excellence Award highlights how measurable improvements in safety can prevent thousands of complications," said Dr. Alana Biggers, MPH, medical advisor at Healthgrades. "Hospitals that prioritize evidence-based safety practices not only achieve better clinical outcomes, but also cultivate a culture where patients come first. These insights give individuals and families the information they need to make confident and better informed healthcare decisions."

To qualify for the award, hospitals must meet strict quality standards and show strong performance on most of those safety measures. They also cannot have any reported cases of a foreign object, such as a sponge or surgical tool, being left inside a patient during a procedure. In addition, hospitals must report data on most of the key safety indicators used to evaluate performance.

If all hospitals performed as well as the award winners, 100,819 patient safety events could have been avoided between 2022 and 2024, Healthgrades said in a news release. Patients treated in award-winning facilities were significantly less likely to experience the four most common patient safety accidents and medical errors, which represent a serious, preventable complication and account for 78 percent of all safety events.

View the full Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient list and methodology on healthgrades.com.

Patch Staffer Lauren Traut contributed to this report.