Stony Brook Medicine Named One of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2026 by Healthgrades

Stony Brook remains Long Island’s only hospital among the top 1 percent nationwide for overall care

For the fourth straight year, Stony Brook Medicine (SBM) has received the highest level of achievement from Healthgrades as one of America’s 50 Best for 2026. This achievement places Stony Brook Medicine among the top 1 percent nationwide for overall care excellence, and SBM is the only one on Long Island to be ranked among America’s 50 Best. Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital are collectively assessed by Healthgrades and share the America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award™.

“This honor speaks to the shared focus across Stony Brook Medicine on providing exceptional care for each and every patient,” said William A. Wertheim, MD, MBA, executive vice president, Stony Brook Medicine. “Receiving this achievement for the fourth year in a row reflects the daily collaboration of our teams in maintaining an exemplary standard of care throughout the organization.”

“The outstanding care found at Stony Brook is made possible by a deep commitment to the highest standards of quality and continuous improvement across our entire health system,” said Carol A. Gomes, chief executive officer of Stony Brook University Hospital. “I am sincerely grateful to our physicians, nurses and all members of our healthcare team whose compassion, expertise and dedication make excellence possible every day.”

SBM’s achievement is based solely on what matters most: patient outcomes. To determine America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2026, Healthgrades evaluated risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates for more than 30 of the most common conditions and procedures at approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide.

Healthgrades’ analysis found that outcomes vary widely between the nation’s highest- and lowest-performing facilities — and the gap is getting bigger. In fact, if all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to America’s 50 Best, on average, 209,081 lives could have been saved during the 2022-2024 study period.* These findings illustrate the importance of choosing a facility with an established record of superior patient outcomes.

“This year’s America’s Best Hospitals list gives patients a clearer picture of where high-quality care is delivered most consistently,” said Alana Biggers, MD, MPH, medical advisor at Healthgrades. “Patients can feel confident in their decision to seek care from Stony Brook Medicine, an organization that is setting the standard for clinical excellence nationwide.”

The Best Hospitals Award comes on the heels of receiving numerous specialty awards this past fall, underscoring Stony Brook’s dedication to exceptional patient care. For 2026, SBUH was named as one of:

• America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care™ – the only hospital in New York State for 11 Years in a Row (2016-2026) and the only hospital on Long Island
• America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care™ – the only hospital on Long Island
• America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention™
• America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Joint Replacement™ – the only hospital in Suffolk County

Consumers can visit Healthgrades’ America’s Best Patient Advocate Center to learn more about how Healthgrades identifies the national leaders in clinical excellence.

*Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2022 through 2024 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only. View the methodology for the 2026 America’s Best Hospital Awards.