BJC Health Awarded 130 Recognitions for Clinical Excellence in U.S. News & World Report

For more information, please contact:

Sammie Hill (East Region/BJC HealthCare)
[email protected], 636-293-2772

Emily Hohenberg (West Region/Saint Luke’s)
[email protected], 816-589-9621

ST. LOUIS (August 4, 2026) – BJC Health received 130 recognitions for clinical excellence from U.S. News & World Report, including national rankings for Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 10 out of 13 eligible specialties. For cardiology, heart, and vascular surgery, Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City is ranked No. 1 in Missouri and among the top 50 nationally.

Five BJC Health hospitals are ranked among the ten “Best Hospitals” in Missouri.

• Barnes-Jewish Hospital—with the WashU Medicine physicians who provide the care there—is once again ranked No. 1 in the metro St. Louis area and No. 1 in Missouri.
• Missouri Baptist Medical Center is No. 2 in both categories.
• Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City is ranked No. 4 in Missouri and No. 2 in the Kansas City metro area.
• Christian Hospital is No. 8 in Missouri and No. 6 in the St. Louis area.
• Saint Luke's East Hospital is ranked No. 10 in Missouri and No. 3 in the Kansas City metro area.

In Illinois, Memorial Hospital ranked No. 7 in the metro area and No. 19 in the state.

“We are proud to see U.S. News & World Report once again recognize multiple BJC hospitals and numerous clinical specialties,” said Nick Barto, BJC Health president and CEO. “Our caregivers earn these distinctions through their expertise, compassion, and dedication. We appreciate their commitment to delivering exceptional care in every moment and improving the lives of the patients and communities we serve.”

Barnes-Jewish Hospital ranked nationally in 10 specialties, with care provided by WashU Medicine physicians: cancer; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery; geriatrics; obstetrics and gynecology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; pulmonology and lung surgery; rheumatology; and urology.

Saint Luke’s Hospital ranked nationally in cardiology, heart, and vascular surgery. Saint Luke’s Hospital was also recognized as “High Performing” in neurology and neurosurgery. Missouri Baptist Medical Center was recognized as “High Performing” in urology.

This year, U.S. News & World Report introduced new regional specialty rankings. Barnes-Jewish Hospital ranked No. 1 in Missouri and St. Louis for both cancer and orthopedics. Saint Luke’s Hospital ranked No. 1 in Missouri in cardiology, heart, and vascular surgery. Saint Luke’s South Hospital ranked No. 3 in Kansas and No. 2 in the Kansas City region in rehabilitation.

U.S. News & World Report also rates hospitals on a scale of High Performing, As Expected, or Evaluated in 23 common adult procedures and conditions. Ninety-seven high performing ratings for common conditions and procedures, combined with the new specialty regional rankings and impressive overall rankings, resulted in a total of 130 recognitions for BJC Health.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Christian Hospital have also once again been included among the “Best Regional Hospitals for Community Access” by U.S. News & World Report. Only 14% of Best Regional Hospitals earned this additional award. Among the criteria are the percentage of inpatient visits involving patients living in underserved communities, the percentage of a hospital’s population funded by Medicaid, and having a patient population that reflects the racial and ethnic composition of the surrounding community.

The rankings for pediatric hospitals will be released in September. In 2025, St. Louis Children’s Hospital was ranked No. 1 in Missouri, No. 1 in St. Louis, and No. 3 in the Midwest region.

Rankings have been published on U.S. News & World Report’s website, usnews.com/besthospitals, and will appear in the magazine’s August issue.

About BJC Health

BJC Health is one of the largest integrated academic health care organizations in the United States and one of the largest private employer in Missouri. It serves as a driving force for economic growth, clinical excellence, and exceptional patient care throughout the Midwest and beyond. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, BJC's 48,000 employees, 24 hospitals, and hundreds of clinics and service organizations, operate in two regions as BJC HealthCare in the St. Louis area (BJC East Region) and Saint Luke’s in the Kansas City area (BJC West Region). Its dedication to improving urban, suburban, and rural communities across Missouri, southern Illinois, and eastern Kansas is supported by more than $1.3 billion in annual community investment. BJC’s long-standing affiliation with nationally renowned WashU Medicine powers its academic mission in the East, most notably at U.S. News & World Report ranked Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital; as well as at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the state of Missouri. In the West Region, Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City serves as a primary training site for University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. BJC is consistently recognized as a great place to work, from Newsweek’s America’s Greatest Workplaces to Forbes’ list of Best Large Employers.