St. Elizabeth Healthcare Edgewood/Covington named best regional hospital by U.S. News & World Report; with five more listed among best
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
Six Kentucky hospitals have been named among the nation’s “Best Regional Hospitals” in the annual ranking by the U.S. News & World Report magazine.
The rankings list the No. 1 hospital in Kentucky as St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood and Covington, followed by the University of Kentucky hospital, Baptist Health Lexington, Norton Hospitals in Louisville, and tied for No. 5: Saint Joseph Hospital-Lexington and Baptist Health Louisville.
To make the list, a hospital must offer a full range of services; earn at least eight high-performing ratings out of the 22 evaluated procedures and conditions; and have at least five more high-performing ratings than below-average ratings for procedures and conditions. Only 13% of evaluated hospitals earned a Best Hospitals designation.
The report offers an overview of 121 Kentucky hospitals with a breakdown of each of the measured categories, according to the services a hospital provides.
St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s Edgewood and Covington hospitals ranked high performing in 20 adult procedures and conditions: colon cancer surgery, gynecological cancer surgery, lung cancer surgery, prostate cancer surgery, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, heart attack, heart arrhythmia, aortic valve surgery, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, pacemaker implantation, diabetes, kidney failure, stroke, maternity care (uncomplicated pregnancy), hip fracture, hip replacement, knee replacement, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia.
“Being named the #1 hospital in Kentucky is a prestigious honor, but more importantly, it is a testament to the extraordinary care provided by our associates, physicians and volunteers,” Garren Colvin, president and CEO of St. Elizabeth Healthcare, said in a news release.
UK HealthCare’s Albert B. Chandler Hospital, ranked second best hospital in Kentucky, dropping from its No. 1 position that it had held for nine years in a row.
UK HealthCare ranked 28th in the nation for obstetrics and gynecology and high-performing in five specialties: cancer, geriatrics, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery and urology.
It also ranked high performing for 12 procedures and conditions: leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, colon cancer surgery, gynecological cancer surgery, lung cancer surgery, prostate cancer surgery, heart bypass surgery, diabetes, kidney failure, back surgery (spinal fusion), stroke, hip fracture and pneumonia.
UK HealthCare spokesperson Kristi Willett told the Herald-Leader in an emailed statement that the hospital is analyzing the U.S. News results for areas of improvement.
“Additionally, we want to emphasize that U.S. News rankings are just one of many ways UK HealthCare gauges quality and performance,” Willett told the Hearld-Leader. “For instance, we have moved up to a 4-Star rating in the Center for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) STAR rating system’s patient survey, and we continue to improve on those metrics. We have also maintained a B performance level in The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit focused on patient safety, which released its Spring 2025 Hospital Safety Grade on May 1, 2025. We utilize all of these rankings to inform us about where we are, the strides we have made and also where we need to continue to improve. That’s how we view these rankings and all of those we track and monitor in assessing our progress in advancing the health of the state and all the people we help and heal.”
Baptist Health Lexington, ranking third in the state, ranked high performing in 14 procedures and conditions: leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, colon cancer surgery, gynecological cancer surgery, prostate cancer surgery, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, heart attack, heart bypass surgery, pacemaker implantation, back surgery (spinal fusion), stroke, hip fracture, hip replacement, knee replacement and pneumonia.
Norton Hospitals in Louisville ranked fourth among Kentucky’s hospitals, with high performance rankings in 11 procedures and conditions: leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, gynecological cancer surgery, prostate cancer surgery, heart bypass surgery, pacemaker implantation, kidney failure, back surgery (spinal fusion), stroke, hip replacement, knee replacement and COPD.
Saint Joseph Hospital-Lexington and Baptist Health Louisville tied for fifth place.
Saint Joseph Hospital-Lexington ranked high performing for eight procedures and conditions: leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, colon cancer surgery, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, heart arrhythmia, heart failure, back surgery( spinal fusion), hip fracture and pneumonia.
Baptist Health Louisville ranked high performing for eight procedures and conditions: leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, colon cancer surgery, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, heart arrhythmia, heart failure, back surgery( spinal fusion), hip fracture and pneumonia.