UF Health Shands Hospital ranks among the nation’s top hospitals in many specialties.

As a perennial leader in health care in Florida, University of Florida Health Shands Hospital is once again recognized by the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals rankings for excellence in adult patient care, with seven medical specialties ranked among the nation’s elite. Combined with the five pediatric specialties ranked in the nation’s top 50 by U.S. News & World Report, UF Health Shands has 12 specialties recognized, more than any other hospital in the state of Florida.
UF Health Shands placed among the nation’s elite programs in several medical specialties, an honor achieved by few health systems in the United States. The seven specialties include neurology and neurosurgery (33rd), ear, nose and throat (35th), urology (38th), obstetrics and gynecology (41st), geriatrics (43rd), orthopedics (46th), and pulmonology and lung surgery (48th).
UF Health Shands Hospital also had 17 procedures and conditions ranked as “high performing,” meaning they were in the top 10% of all hospitals nationally scored in that specialty. Those were abdominal aortic aneurysm repair; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; colon cancer surgery; diabetes; gynecological cancer surgery; heart attack; heart failure; hip fracture; hip replacement; kidney failure; knee replacement; leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma; lung cancer surgery; pneumonia; prostate cancer surgery; stroke; and transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
Other specialties that were rated “high performing” include cancer, cardiology and heart and vascular surgery, gastroenterology and GI surgery.
UF Health Shands Hospital ranks among the nation’s top hospitals in many specialties.
UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital ranks among the nation’s top hospitals in many specialties.
UF Health Shands hospitals and programs received a fifth consecutive Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in spring 2023. The Magnet Recognition Program serves as the gold standard for nursing excellence and gives consumers a benchmark for measuring quality care. It’s the highest national honor for any professional nursing practice.
Fewer than 1% of hospitals and health systems nationwide have achieved the designation and only 23 in Florida hold Magnet status. With this designation, UF Health joins only 43 other health care organizations in the nation to receive the Magnet designation five or more consecutive times. UF Health’s first such honor was in 2003. Each designation lasts for four years.
Hospitals that earn Magnet recognition must meet stringent quantitative and qualitative standards that define the quality of nursing and patient care. The application process includes comprehensive written documentation, which is validated by virtual or in-person site visits.
UF Health Shands Hospital earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade in fall 2024 from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit that reports on safety and quality in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers.
The distinction celebrates UF Health Shands Hospital’s achievements in prioritizing patient safety by protecting patients from preventable harm and errors.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated every fall and spring.
The UF Health Cancer Center has received prestigious designation from the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, and joins the ranks of the country’s most distinguished cancer centers, becoming the 72nd in the United States and the only one in North Central Florida. The designation signifies that the UF Health Cancer Center has met rigorous standards in its leading-edge cancer research programs, advanced scientific leadership, distinctive training programs and forward-thinking community outreach.
At a time when Florida has the nation’s second-highest cancer burden, the funding will provide more resources for innovative clinical trials and increase access to cancer care. Being part of the NCI network means patients in North Central Florida and beyond can be assured of access to the most advanced cancer treatments and innovation — backed by research conducted by dedicated scientists.
UF Health Shands received a 4-star rating on Vizient’s Quality and Accountability Scorecard once again in 2022. The rating reflects our quality of care in comparison to 107 comprehensive academic medical centers across the United States.
Maintaining a 4-star rating during the many challenges of a pandemic is a major accomplishment. It reflects the sustained commitment of all the members of our UF Health team to delivering safe, high-quality care. The rating is based on a score that is composed of six categories: mortality, equity, patient-centeredness, effectiveness, efficiency and safety.
UF Health’s hospital system includes eight units that have an active Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, or AACN:
A Beacon Award — recognized at a gold, silver or bronze level — is a three-year designation that recognizes nursing teams that meet national criteria consistent with Magnet recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award. The award identifies individual nursing units that promote healthy work environments conducive to collaboration, and collect and use evidence-based research to improve patient outcomes, patient and staff satisfaction and credibility with health care consumers. Beacon Award criteria include leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and staff engagement; effective communication, knowledge management, learning and development; and evidence-based practices and processes.
The liver transplant program at UF Health Shands Hospital is recognized by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, or SRTR, as one of the best liver transplant programs in the nation with a one-year survival rate of 99% — the highest of all hospitals in the U.S. — the result of our commitment to personalized care and our comprehensive team approach. SRTR annually evaluates transplant programs around the country on metrics that are of greatest concern to transplant candidates: one-year post-transplant survival rates, how quickly candidates can receive a transplant and survival rates on the waitlist.
The UF Health Shands Hospital lung transplant program is recognized by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, or SRTR, as the highest-performing program for patient outcomes in the southeastern U.S. and as one of the top 5 lung transplant programs in the nation. Our comprehensive team approach and commitment to personalized care are key to a successful recovery and the promise of tomorrow. SRTR annually evaluates transplant programs around the country on metrics that are of greatest concern to transplant candidates: one-year post-transplant survival rates, how quickly candidates can receive a transplant and survival rates on the waitlist.
The UF Health Cancer Center is recognized as a state-designated Cancer Center of Excellence by the Florida governor’s office and the Florida Department of Health. The designation by the Florida Legislature recognizes hospitals and treatment centers that demonstrate excellence in patient-centered coordinated care for people undergoing cancer treatment and chemotherapy.
The UF Health Cancer Center has received this designation three consecutive times, with each one lasting three years.
UF Health Shands Hospital is recognized as a Center of Excellence Gold Level program by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization for its exceptional care in using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, in both the pediatric and adult programs.
UF Health is designated as a member of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation’s Care Center Network, placing it among only 80 medical centers nationwide with the highest level of expertise and resources for the treatment of interstitial lung disease. The UF Health interstitial lung disease program serves a large geographic area in central and northern Florida, southern Georgia and southern Alabama.
Newsweek has recognized UF Health Rehab Hospital on its list of "America's Best Physical Rehab Centers" for 2022. The hospital came in at No. 8 for the state of Florida.