For the fifth straight year, UCHealth Memorial Hospital came out on top in southern Colorado when U.S. News & World Report published its annual hospital rankings this week. The results reaffirmed the Colorado Springs facility as the premier destination for patients across the region.
Each year, U.S. News & World Report evaluates roughly 5,000 hospitals nationwide, weighing measures that include patient volume, staffing ratios, health outcomes, survival and mortality rates adjusted for patient risk, readmission rates, and how often patients experience complications following surgery. The scoring blends concrete data with softer experience-based metrics such as patient satisfaction, and Memorial has topped the southern Colorado portion of that index five years running. The publication first launched the rankings in 1990 to guide patients toward high-quality care.
Reviewers designated Memorial as a high-performing institution across ten distinct procedures and conditions. Cardiac care figured prominently in that recognition, with the hospital earning marks for aortic valve surgery, heart attack treatment, arrhythmia management, heart bypass, repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms, and the implantation of pacemakers. High-performing status was also awarded for spinal fusion procedures, surgical treatment of prostate cancer, lung cancer operations, and surgeries involving the ear, nose, and throat.
Within Colorado as a whole, Memorial placed sixth among all hospitals in the state. Two additional UCHealth facilities also earned spots on the statewide best-hospitals list alongside the Colorado Springs hospital. One of them, Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, shared the third-place position in Colorado.
Roughly 70 miles north in the Denver metro area, University of Colorado Hospital saw a long run of dominance come to an end, dropping to second place statewide behind Intermountain Health St. Joseph, a hospital whose founding predates Colorado's admission to the Union by three years. The Aurora hospital had held the state's top ranking for 13 consecutive years before this year's results.
UCHealth issued a press release following the announcement, highlighting the contributions of its leaders and clinical staff. Lonnie Cramer, who leads UCHealth's southern Colorado operations, said in the release that caregivers and staff "are committed to providing compassionate, high-quality care to every patient and family we serve," adding that the recognition reflects the "expertise and collaboration" driving daily patient care. UCHealth's system-wide president and CEO credited physicians and staff for consistently delivering what she described as "the highest quality and most innovative care" across Colorado and the broader Rocky Mountain region.
The full U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings, including specialty-level detail for all evaluated institutions, are now publicly available as patients and health systems review this year's complete findings.