Healthgrades awards hospitals each year for patient safety.
McClatchy File
Several hospitals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are in the top 10% nationwide for preventing infections, medical errors and other complications, according to a new report by Healthgrades.
Healthgrades, a popular website to find and review doctors, awards hospitals each year for patient safety and other measures based on three-years of Medicare data and “patient safety indicators,” which are defined by the federal government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
This year, 438 hospitals across 40 states made Healthgrades list. Texas, Florida and California, the three most populated states in the country, are home to the highest number of the hospitals awarded for patient safety by Healthgrades this year.
“Hospitals that prioritize evidence-based safety practices not only achieve better clinical outcomes, but also cultivate a culture where patients come first,” Dr. Alana Biggers, a medical advisor at Healthgrades said in a statement. “These insights give individuals and families the information they need to make confident and better informed healthcare decisions.”
Healthgrades says patients treated at award-winning facilities “were significantly less likely to experience the four most common patient safety indicators (PSIs), which represent a serious, preventable complication and account for 78% of all safety events.” This includes in-hospital fall resulting in fracture, collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital and pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital.
“Healthgrades hospital rankings are a powerful way for patients to advocate for their own health,” the company told the Miami Herald in an emailed statement. ”Based exclusively on clinical outcomes, Healthgrades ratings and awards help patients identify the best facilities for the care they need, increasing the likelihood of a successful outcome.”
Here is a list of the high-ranking hospitals in South Florida:
Miami-Dade hospitals rank high for patient safety
HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, 11750 SW 40th St, and HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, 20900 Biscayne Blvd. are considered to be in the top 5% of hospitals for patient safety, according to Healthgrades. This is the third consecutive year the hospitals receive the recognition.
HCA Florida Kendall Hospital also made it this year into Healthgrades’ “America’s 50 Best Hospitals” list, which recognizes the top 1% of hospitals in the nation that provide the highest clinical quality year over year. HCA Florida Aventura similarly snagged a spot for the third straight year in the company’s “America’s 100 Best Hospitals” list, which recognizes the top 2% of hospitals nationwide for clinical quality care.
“This distinction reflects our ongoing commitment to delivering safe, high-quality care and putting patients at the center of everything we do,” HCA Florida said in a statement to the Miami Herald this week. “It is a testament to the dedication of our physicians, nurses and colleagues who work every day to ensure the best possible outcomes for our communities.”
Doctors Hospital, 5000 University Dr in Coral Gables, part of Baptist Health South Florida. The hospital is considered to be in the Top 5% of hospitals for patient safety, according to Healthgrades.
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Three employees leave Palmetto General Hospital through the emergency entrance on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Hialeah, Fla. Sophia Bolivar sbolivar@miamiherald.com
Three former Steward Health Care System hospitals that are now part of Healthcare Systems of America received the award:
Coral Gables Hospital, 3100 S. Douglas Rd. in Coral Gables, for the third consecutive year was recognized for patient safety. Healthgrades said the hospital is in the top 10% for patient safety.
Hialeah Hospital, 651 E 25th St, is in the top 5% for patient safety, and Palmetto General Hospital, 2001 W. 68th St. in Hialeah, is in the top 10% for patient safety.
Larkin Hospital Palm Springs, 1475 W. 49th St. in Hialeah, received the award for a second year in a row and is considered to be in the top 5% of hospitals for patient safety, according to Healthgrades.
“This recognition reflects the outstanding commitment of our physicians, nurses, leadership teams, caregivers and staff to delivering safe, high-quality care every day,” Yoely Hernandez, chief executive officer of Larkin Community Hospital Palm Springs Campus, told the Miami Herald in an emailed statement. “Patient safety is central to everything we do, and earning this distinction again underscores our team’s dedication to clinical excellence, accountability and compassion. We are grateful to our employees for their exceptional work and to our patients and community for the trust they place in our Hospital.”
Top Broward hospitals for patient safety 
Aerial view of Memorial Hospital Miramar on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Miramar, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
Three hospitals that are part of Memorial Healthcare System, the public health system that primarily serves South Broward, were awarded for patient safety: Memorial Hospital Miramar, 101 SW 172nd Ave., is in the top 5% of hospitals for patient safety; Memorial Hospital Pembroke, 7800 Sheridan St., is in the top 10%; and Memorial Regional Hospital, 3501 Johnson St. in Hollywood, is in the top 5% of hospitals for patient safety. Memorial Hospital Pembroke received the award in 2024.
“Patient safety is the foundation of everything we do across Memorial Healthcare System,” said Memorial Interim CEO Shane Strum, who also serves as the CEO of Broward Health, the other public health system in Broward County. “These recognitions from Healthgrades reflect the dedication of our physicians, nurses and care teams who work tirelessly every day to deliver safe, high-quality care to our patients and community.”
Holy Cross Hospital, 4725 N. Federal Hwy. in Fort Lauderdale. is considered to be in the top 10% of hospitals for patient safety.
“Patient safety comes to life at the bedside, where our nurses and care teams are focused on delivering safe, compassionate care every day,” Taren J. OBrien, chief nursing officer at Holy Cross Health told the Miami Herald in an emailed statement. “This recognition reflects the vigilance, teamwork and accountability our staff bring to each patient interaction and the culture of safety we’ve built across our organization.”
HCA Florida Westside Hospital, 8201 W. Broward Blvd., in Plantation and HCA Florida Woodmont Hospital, 7201 N. University Dr. in Tamarac are in the top 5% of hospitals for patient safety. This is the third consecutive year the hospitals win this award.
How did other Florida hospitals do?
Take a look at the 61 Florida hospitals that were awarded this year by Healthgrades for patient safety:
What was Healthgrades methodology?
The 2026 “Patient Safety Excellence Award,” in particular, is based on an analysis that measures clinical performance across 13 patient safety indicators, according to Healthgrades. Hospitals were also required to meet “certain clinical quality thresholds, have zero instances of a foreign object left behind [in a patient] during a procedure, and have data on at least seven out of eight core” patient safety indicators in order to be eligible for the award.
Healthgrades told the Miami Herald it recommends patients refer to “the various results from Healthgrades to identify high performers for the specialty care needed” and to get information on “results for patient experience, patient safety, and overall hospital performance” while searching for the right hospital to get care in.
To learn more about the award, and to see other awards South Florida hospitals recently received, visit healthgrades.com
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 11:36 AM.
Miami Herald
Michelle Marchante covers the pulse of healthcare in South Florida and also the City of Coral Gables. Before that, she covered the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes, crime, education, entertainment and other topics in South Florida for the Herald as a breaking news reporter. She recently won first place in the health reporting category in the 2025 Sunshine State Awards for her coverage of Steward Health’s bankruptcy. An investigative series about the abrupt closure of a Miami heart transplant program led Michelle and her colleagues to be recognized as finalists in two 2024 Florida Sunshine State Award categories. She also won second place in the 73rd annual Green Eyeshade Awards for her consumer-focused healthcare stories and was part of the team of reporters who won a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for the Miami Herald’s breaking news coverage of the Surfside building collapse. Michelle graduated with honors from Florida International University and was a 2025 National Press Foundation Covering Workplace Mental Health fellow and a 2020-2021 Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism fellow.
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