These are the 10 most racially inclusive hospitals in America, Lown Institute says

A select group of hospitals are being recognized for their efforts in health equity and inclusion.

Boston Medical Center ranked at the top of the Lown Institute's racially inclusive hospitals. (Photo: Boston Medical Center)

On Tuesday, the Lown Institute released its ranking of America’s most racially inclusive hospitals.

Boston Medical Center topped the list, followed by two Chicago hospitals: John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, which ranked second, and UChicago Medicine, which came in third.

The think tank examined more than 3,000 hospitals in their treatment of patients from minority groups. The institute used Medicare data from 2021 in its analysis to get a picture of hospitals and the racial and ethnic demographics they served.

Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, said, “We’re really delighted to be able to showcase certain hospitals in the country that often don’t get their due.”

• Read more: Health equity is a journey, and these two hospitals are making progress

Here’s the Lown Institutes’ list of the 10 most racially inclusive hospitals.

Boston Medical Center (Boston, Mass.)

John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital (Chicago, Ill.)

UChicago Medicine (Chicago, Ill.)

Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Metro Nashville General Hospital (Nashville, Tenn.)

South Coast Global Medical Center (Santa Ana, Calif.)

St. Charles Madras (Madras, Ore.)

Grady Memorial Hospital (Atlanta, Ga.)

Methodist Hospitals (Gary, Ind.)

Emory University Hospital Midtown (Atlanta, Ga.)

The think tank’s awards also are part of a broader analysis of how hospitals are facing in terms of improving health equity. Only 3% of the 3,142 hospitals analyzed earned 5 stars in the Lown Institute report. Hospitals at the bottom were also rare, with 6% getting 1 star.

In an online discussion about the awards, Saini said some hospitals need to do better.

“Hospitals say that the doors are open to anyone, but clearly there's more to it,” he said.

In addition to ranking America’s most racially inclusive hospitals, the Lown Institute also looked at the nation's most highly segregated healthcare markets.

The institute identified 11 metropolitan areas that indicated high degrees of segregation. These cities had a number of hospitals with the lowest ranking in Lown’s study (1 start) and some facilities that earned top grades (5 starts).

The Lown Institute found high segregation in some markets, with substantial differences in life expectancies. According to the Lown analysis, white residents in St. Louis County typically live nine years longer than Black residents.

These cities had the most segregated markets, according to the institute.

1. New Orleans
2. St. Louis
3. Detroit
4. Milwaukee
5. Philadelphia
6. Kansas City, Mo.
7. Chicago
8. Denver
9. Phoenix
10. Dallas/Fort Worth
11. Atlanta

Uché Blackstock, CEO of Advancing Health Equity, pointed to the disparities in outcomes during the institute’s online discussion on improving health equity.

“It’s a two-tiered system, and we really have to acknowledge that,” she said.

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