UAB Hospital has once again earned international recognition, securing a place as Alabama’s top-ranked hospital on Newsweek’s prestigious list of the World’s Best Hospitals 2026.
Out of more than 400 hospitals evaluated this year in the U.S., UAB was ranked No. 59.
This annual ranking, presented in collaboration with Statista Inc., a leading global data and business intelligence platform, highlights top-performing hospitals across various medical specialties.
UAB was also awarded as a leader in patient experience.
“UAB’s continued recognition as one of the nation’s top health care destinations reflects the outstanding work our faculty and staff deliver every day,” said Dawn Bulgarella, CEO of UAB Health System. “This honor, grounded in rigorous hospital quality metrics, the expertise of medical professionals and the voices of our patients, underscores the strength of our care. Combined with our leading research and innovative therapies, these results reaffirm UAB as the destination of choice in Alabama, across the Southeast and beyond.”
The UAB Health System, the largest health system in the state, continues to expand its reach and impact across the state, now operating as a nearly $7.5 billion enterprise with 133 locations serving all 67 counties in Alabama and beyond. In November 2024, UAB Health System acquired St. Vincent’s Hospitals, increasing its total bed count to 3,173. The system now includes UAB Hospital, UAB St. Vincent’s, UAB Medical West, Baptist Health in Montgomery, UAB Hospital- Callahan Eye, and all associated sites of care of the owned and affiliated entities.
With a workforce of more than 30,000 physicians, health care professionals and staff, UAB Health System provides care to some of Alabama’s most critically ill patients and serves almost 1.4 million unique patients. UAB promotes sustainable rural health care throughout the state by supporting associate hospitals of the UAB Health System, like Russell Medical Center, Whitfield Regional Hospital and John Paul Jones Hospital.
This year, four key data sources were used to determine the winner: hospital quality metrics, recommendations from medical experts—including doctors, hospital managers and other healthcare professionals—results from patient surveys, and findings from the Statista PROMs Implementation Survey.
The full list of honorees was released February 25 and is available on Newsweek’s website.
