St. Luke’s University Health Network has been recognized by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) as one of the nation’s three high-performing health systems for patient safety and quality, placing it alongside Houston Methodist and the Mayo Clinic.
The designation was based on publicly available Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) outcome measures and patient survey data. From a review of 4,791 hospitals and 135 health systems nationwide, St. Luke’s was found to be one of only three health systems with more than one hospital performing 75 percent above the national average in safety and patient experience.
“Here’s the simple take-away: If you want to receive the safest care when you go to the hospital, come to St. Luke’s,” said St. Luke’s Chief Quality Officer Donna Sabol.
As part of the evaluation, AHRQ and its contractors conducted on-site visits at St. Luke’s Bethlehem and Miners campuses. Reviewers praised the network’s commitment to patient-centered care, its “speak up” culture, and leadership pipeline that emphasizes empathy and communication skills.
The findings were shared Sept. 22 in the Best Practices to Strengthen Safety Culture, Leadership, and Governance report, which AHRQ hopes will guide other health systems across the country.
Sabol said the recognition builds on St. Luke’s long record of excellence, noting that CMS awarded 10 of its hospitals five stars and Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade gave A ratings to all 11 eligible campuses.
“St. Luke’s achieves superior quality and safety results because of the commitment to excellence of our outstanding medical staff and employees,” Sabol said. “Straight A’s and five stars—St. Luke’s is one of the few large health systems in the nation ever to receive across-the-board high marks from both CMS and Leapfrog.”
Earlier this year, St. Luke’s was also named to Premier’s 2025 PINC AI 100 Top Hospitals list published by Fortune, marking its 11th consecutive appearance.
“These objective measurements reflect the fact that safety is baked into St. Luke’s culture,” Sabol said.
