Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge Tops Lown Institute’s Social Responsibility Honor Roll
Of the thousands of acute care hospitals evaluated by the Lown Institute as part of its Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility since 2020, only four have been consistently included in its honor roll each year. Notably, this year’s most socially responsible hospital is the Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge. This 283-bed facility is a proud part of Covenant Health, a nine-hospital system in Tennessee, which was also ranked as the seventh largest socially responsible health system in 2026.
Top Performers in Social Responsibility
Joining Methodist Medical Center in achieving top marks across more than 50 equity, value, and outcome measures are Baystate Wing Hospital, a part of Baystate Health in Massachusetts, ranked 21st overall, and two other Covenant Health hospitals: Covenant Health Fort Loudon, ranked 24th, and Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, ranked 38th.
In total, the Lown Institute recognized 123 out of 2,718 acute care hospitals that consistently received an “A” grade and were included in the Honor Roll. Following Methodist Medical Center in the rankings are Stillwater Medical Center in Oklahoma, University Health in Texas, Saint Francis Hospital Muskogee in Oklahoma, and Adventist Health Portland in Oregon.
Measuring Social Responsibility
The Lown Institute creates its index using publicly available data from sources like Medicare and Medicare Advantage claims, CMS records, IRS annual nonprofit filings, and other reliable data sources. Social responsibility is assessed by evaluating acute care hospitals in key categories: equity, value of care, and patient outcomes. Equity is weighted at 20% pay equity, 40% inclusivity, and 40% community benefit. The value of care consists of 40% avoidance of overuse and 60% cost-effectiveness. Patient outcomes are divided into 62.5% clinical outcomes, 25% patient safety, and 12.5% patient satisfaction.
Dr. Vikas Saini, president of Lown Institute, emphasized the importance of prioritizing patient and community welfare, stating, “As financial pressures force painful decisions on many hospitals, those on the Lown Honor Roll have found ways to put their patients and communities first. These hospitals stay true to their mission when it matters most, and in healthcare, that’s everything.”
Recognition Beyond Acute Care
The Lown Institute also presents its Roll of Honor to recognize 37 out of 900 critical access hospitals that received an “A” grade. Notable among these are Platte County Memorial Hospital in Wyoming, Baylor Scott & White Hospital Brenham in Texas, and Western Wisconsin Health in Wisconsin.
Health System-Level Achievements
At the health system level, only 11 out of 311 systems were named to the 2026 Honor Roll. These include, in descending order, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Temple Health, Lee Health, Nebraska Medicine, and St. Luke’s University Health Network.
State-Level Highlights
Among individual states, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, and New Jersey boast the highest number of honor hospitals, with 12, 11, nine, and nine respectively. However, 14 states had no hospitals on the honor roll.
Comparison with U.S. News & World Report
Similar to previous years, the Lown Institute compared rankings on its social responsibility list with those in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Hospitals rankings, which also consider equity measures. U.S. News recognizes 20 hospitals on its nonordinal honor roll.
This time, only two hospitals received spots on both honor rolls: Johns Hopkins Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital. Others generally received “A” and “B” ratings for Lown’s results and value compositions, but in some cases received “C” and “D” ratings for equity valuation.
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