UF Health Shands Hospital has earned a five-star rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), placing it among an elite group nationwide for quality care and patient safety. 

According to a UF Health press release, less than 10% of hospitals receive the five-star distinction.  

“At UF Health, our goal is to always provide the best service possible and exceptional care for our patients and their families,” said Michael Holmes, UF Health senior vice president and its Greater Gainesville regional president, in the release. “This is a significant honor that speaks to a deep, organization-wide commitment to clinical excellence and continuous improvement – not to a single initiative or short-term effort.” 

The release states that the CMS star rating lets patients and families compare hospitals based on quality and safety metrics. It assesses how effectively hospitals care for patients throughout their healthcare experience, evaluating performance in areas like safety, outcomes, timely and effective care, readmissions and patient experience.  

“The CMS five-star designation reflects sustained performance across multiple dimensions of quality, safety, and patient experience,” said John Hollingsworth, chief quality officer for the UF Health clinical enterprise, in the release. “For us, this recognition is meaningful because it represents the collective work of physicians, nurses, and staff across the organization to deliver highly reliable, patient-centered care. While we’re proud of this achievement, we also recognize that clinical excellence requires constant vigilance and continuous improvement.” 

The five-star designation for UF Health Shands Hospital is the latest honor for the hospital, which has also been consistently recognized among the nation’s top hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, Healthgrades’ top 250 hospitals list and other leading rankings.