UF Health Spanish Plaines receives high care, safety rating from U.S. government
LEESBURG, Fla. — UF Health Spanish Plaines Hospital has received high marks for quality and patient safety, earning a four‑star rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The designation puts Spanish Plaines in the top third of all hospitals nationwide and reflects a steady rise in the years since UF Health acquired UF Health Spanish Plaines Hospital — then known as The Villages® Regional Hospital — in 2020.
“This is a significant honor that speaks to a deep, organizationwide commitment to clinical excellence and continuous improvement — not to a single initiative or short-term effort,” said Heather Long, senior vice president and regional president of UF Health’s Central Florida market. “Patient care is at the heart of everything we do. This recognition is a point of pride, one that speaks to the hard work of our teams.”
The grade also provides triple recognition for the hospital’s continuous quality improvement. In March Healthgrades, another leading quality ratings organization, presented UF Health Spanish Plaines a 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Award, placing the hospital in the top 10% of hospitals for patient safety. Late last year, the hospital earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization that sets the standard for excellence in hospital safety and quality.
More consumer-oriented, the CMS star rating allows patients and families to compare hospitals based on quality and safety metrics. It evaluates how well hospitals care for patients through their healthcare experience, assessing performance across areas such as outcomes, safety, timely and effective care, readmissions and patient experience.
“It’s an external, nationally standardized, objective assessment of performance,” said John Hollingsworth, M.D., chief quality officer for the UF Health clinical enterprise. “It is one more tool we use to compare well against other hospitals. While this is a milestone worth celebrating, our focus remains on continued improvement and ensuring every patient receives safe, high-quality care.”
The health system’s other local facility, UF Health Leesburg Hospital, has also made measurable progress. For example, it moved to a CMS three-star rating this year, received a “B” rating (from “C”) from Leapfrog and was named to Healthgrades’ list of the top 100 best hospitals for orthopaedic surgery.
About UF Health Central Florida
UF Health Spanish Plaines Hospital and UF Health Leesburg Hospital are part of UF Health, the University of Florida’s academic health center, recognized nationally for excellence in patient care, teaching and research. UF Health Spanish Plaines and UF Health Leesburg hospitals serve the growing communities of Central Florida with a full spectrum of advanced surgical and medical services, leading-edge technology and a team of compassionate caregivers dedicated to improving lives. Visit UFHealth.org/Central-Florida for more information.