Long Island hospitals NYU Langone, Northwell receive top marks in national 'Best Hospitals' rankings

The NYU Langone hospital system has been named among the best in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report rankings announced Tuesday.

Other regional hospitals also earned top marks compared with other healthcare facilities in New York State.

U.S. News & World Report, a publication specializing in rankings and consumer advice, evaluated hospitals on performance across a wide range of specialty areas like cardiology, oncology and orthopedics in its newly released 2026-2027 Best Hospital rankings. Assessments relied heavily on federal Medicare patient and procedure outcome data.

"I hope that patients find this information useful as they and their care providers are making decisions about where to seek care," said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of healthcare analysis at U.S. News & World Report. "Our goal is to identify what hospitals are the best and what they’re the best at."

'Best patient outcomes'

The rankings, which identified 505 regional hospitals across the country as exemplary in one respect or more, recognized NYU Langone — including its two Long Island hospitals in Mineola and Patchogue — as among the No. 1-ranked hospitals in the state, and placed it on an "Honor Roll" of the top 20 hospitals in the country.

Because NYU Langone hospitals share a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services certification number, its health outcome data was evaluated as one facility, Harder said. Most hospitals on the list are evaluated on a facility-to-facility basis.

"We have the best patient outcomes in New York and possibly the country," said Dr. Joseph Greco, executive vice president and chief of hospital operations at NYU Langone Hospital - Long Island.

The hospital system uses real-time data to guide patient care and has among the shortest length of stays for patients in the country, he said.

Besides its two Long Island locations, NYU Langone plans to build an additional 500-bed hospital in Melville. The facility would mark the first new hospital on the Island since 1980 and likely fuel competition among the multiple health systems on Long Island.

The new hospital will "only enhance our ability to provide world-class care," Greco said.

Snapshots on quality

Hospital ratings can provide patients with snapshots on the quality of safety or specialty care at different facilities, Newsday previously reported, although ratings also have faced criticism from health experts for competing methodologies and incomplete data.

"The most important thing, anytime you’re looking at a hospital ranking is to understand there’s both the quality of the hospital itself — everything from the nursing staff to its cleanliness and its ability to prevent infections — but also the physicians," said Patricia Kelmar, senior director of healthcare campaigns for the advocacy group PIRG.

Look for trends in a hospital’s ratings over time to see if the facility is trying to improve, and look at different rating systems and their methodologies to understand what is being measured, Kelmar said.

Use that information in conversations with your physician when you’re thinking about scheduling inpatient services, and educate yourself on the ways you can hold staff accountable, she said.

But, overall, for patients looking at specific procedures, hospital ratings can provide an "important way to get a sense of what’s happening in different hospitals," Kelmar said.

In addition to Langone’s ranking as a top state hospital, four Northwell hospitals on Long Island, including Huntington Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, North Shore University Hospital and South Shore University Hospital ranked among the top 12 in the state. North Shore and LIJ were ranked fourth and fifth in the state, respectively.

"For the sixth consecutive year, Northwell Health has had more hospitals recognized among the nation’s best than any other health system in the tri-state area," Dr. John D’Angelo, president and CEO of Northwell Health, said in a statement. "While we are honored by this recognition, it is ultimately a testament of the extraordinary people who make our mission possible."

High-performing on procedures

St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center in Roslyn, part of the Catholic Health system, also listed among the top five hospitals in the state, and received top ranks in several medical specialties and was rated "high performing" in more than a dozen procedures.

"We are incredibly proud to once again be recognized among the nation's top hospitals," said Dr. Charles Lucore, president of St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center.

Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside earned "high performing" ratings for multiple procedures and conditions as well, including colon cancer surgery and diabetes.

"U.S. News’ High Performing rankings validate what we already know from the choices our patients are making every day — that Mount Sinai South Nassau increasingly is the hospital of choice for the South Shore," said Dr. Joshua Kugler, president of Mount Sinai South Nassau.

Stony Brook University Hospital also received high-performing evaluations for several specialties, including diabetes and gynecological cancer surgery, and ranked 19th out of 27 hospitals in the state.

"This distinction honors the dedicated compassion and expertise of our staff, who consistently deliver world-class medical care to Suffolk County," Dr. Eric Morley, chief quality officer at Stony Brook Medicine, said in a statement. "We look forward to meeting the needs of Long Island's communities, and remain firmly focused on enhancing patient experiences, advancing health outcomes, and providing unmatched care."