Lake Forest Hospital Among Best In The Nation: U.S. News

LAKE FOREST, IL — Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital ranked among the top hospitals in Illinois in the new 2026-2027 Best Hospitals report from U.S. News and World Report, released Tuesday.

The Lake Forest hospital placed seventh in Illinois and seventh in the greater Chicagoland region, according to the annual rankings.

The Best Hospitals report is now in its 37th year and is intended to help patients compare hospitals when they need care ranging from a common procedure, such as a knee replacement, to specialized treatment for a serious or complex illness. This year, U.S. News also added regional specialty rankings for cancer, cardiology, heart and vascular surgery, orthopedics and rehabilitation. The new regional categories are meant to give patients another way to identify highly rated care closer to home.

In addition to its statewide and regional placement, Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital was nationally ranked for treatment of diabetes, gastroenterology, geriatrics, neurology and orthopedics. The report also identified the hospital as high-performing in a range of treatment areas.

Those areas included colon cancer surgery, gynecological cancer surgery, heart arrythmia treatment, heart failure treatment and pacemaker implantation. The hospital was also listed as high-performing for diabetes treatment, geriatrics, kidney failure treatment, stroke treatment, knee replacement, pneumonia treatment and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment.

Here are other Illinois hospitals that made the rankings:

1. Northwestern Medicine-Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
2. Rush University Medical Center, Chicago: Ranked at No. 41 in the nation for cancer care and No. 3 in the state.
3. University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago: Ranked No. 15 in the nation for cancer care and No. 2 in Illinois.
4. Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn: Ranked No. 44 in the nation for cardiology, heart and vascular surgery and No. 4 in the state.
5. Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals, Evanston: Ranked No. 34 nationally for diabetes and endocrinology care.
6. Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, Winfield
7. Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, Lake Forest
8. Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge
9. Endeavor Health Edward Hospital, Naperville
10. Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington

The full rankings for Illinois can be found here.

Patch staffer Amie Schaenzer contributed to this report.