Belleville hospital named among 250 best in US. 3 others in metro-east recognized
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Four metro‑east hospitals earned various Healthgrades clinical and patient awards.
- All four hospitals received Leapfrog safety grade C despite Healthgrades recognitions.
- Healthgrades ratings vary by metric; some hospitals show worse‑than‑expected outcomes.
Four metro-east hospitals were recently recognized for strong performance by Healthgrades, an online platform for hospital quality awards and patient reviews.
The facilities outperformed others for orthopedic surgery, cardiac care, pulmonary care and other categories, depending on the hospital.
Anderson Hospital, located in Maryville, received Healthgrades’ “America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Outpatient Orthopedic Surgery Award” for 2026. The award lauds hospitals for “superior clinical outcomes in outpatient back and neck surgery, outpatient rotator cuff surgery, outpatient total hip replacement, and outpatient total knee replacement,” according to Healthgrades.
Memorial Hospital Belleville, a BJC HealthCare facility, earned several awards from in the 2026 grading cycle, including the “America’s 250 Best Hospitals Award,” “America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care Award” and more.
HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon, which is undergoing major construction projects totaling $116 million, received Healthgrades’ 2025 “Outstanding Patient Experience Award.”
And another local facility, SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia, also received the 2025 Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades.
While Anderson Hospital, Memorial Hospital Belleville, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital were recognized for their strengths by Healthgrades, each of the four hospitals received a “C” safety grade in the most recent grading cycle from The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit that provides ratings and safety data for hospitals.
Leapfrog’s methodology is peer-reviewed, and the organization reports its grading system is the only one focused exclusively on hospital safety. Healthgrades is a commercial organization that’s advertiser-supported and free to use.
Healthgrades and Leapfrog represent two of the many options patients have to evaluate hospitals for planned care. Additional resources include U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. News & World Report and the Illinois Hospital Report Card.
Here’s else to know about the metro-east hospitals’ performance in Healthgrades’ analysis.
Anderson Hospital
Healthgrades reported Anderson Hospital has a 74% patient experience rating, which is 8% better than the national average.
“Healthgrades’ recognition of our organization as one of America’s Best Hospitals for Outpatient Orthopedic Surgery is an honor we are extremely proud of. This achievement reflects the exceptional skill, dedication, and collaboration of our entire orthopedic care team — from our surgeons and clinical specialists to our nurses, technologists, and support staff who ensure every patient receives safe, high‑quality care,” Anderson Hospital President Lisa Spencer wrote in an emailed statement to the News-Democrat.
“Our focus has always been on delivering excellent outcomes and an outstanding patient experience, and this award reinforces that commitment,” Spencer continued. “We are grateful to our caregivers and to the patients who place their trust in us every day.”
While Anderson Hospital performed particularly well for outpatient orthopedic surgery, Healthgrades reported the facility received three ratings “worse than expected,” including breakdown of abdominal incision site, collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest and respiratory failure following surgery.
HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital
St. Elizabeth’s Hospital received a patient experience rating of 78%, 12% higher than the national average.
“HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital is committed to providing an excellent patient experience both in inpatient and outpatient settings. I am proud of our mission-driven colleagues who care for the whole person and make our patients and their families feel engaged and a part of their care journey,” Chris Klay, CEO of HSHS’ Southern Illinois market, wrote in an emailed statement to the BND.
“We are honored to be able to serve the Southwestern Illinois region for over 150 years and are ensuring that we will be providing compassionate care for decades to come through our current growth and expansion projects that will improve access for even more patients.”
Three of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital’s ratings were deemed “worse than expected” by Healthgrades, including respiratory failure following surgery, collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest and deep blood clots in the lungs or legs following surgery.
Memorial Hospital Belleville
Memorial Hospital Belleville received five Healthgrades awards for 2026, including “America’s 250 Best Hospitals Award,” “America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care Award,” “Coronary Intervention Excellence Award,” “Outpatient Joint Replacement Excellence Award” and the “Pulmonary Care Excellence Award.”
The BND has contacted staff with Memorial Hospital Belleville for comment about the Healthgrades recognition.
Out of 12 safety rating categories, Memorial Hospital Belleville scored “as expected” in eight categories and performed “better than expected” for four metrics, including “death following a serious complication after surgery,” “bloodstream infection following surgery,” “deep blood clots in the lungs or legs following surgery” and “excessive bruising or bleeding as a consequence of a procedure or surgery.”
SSM Health St. Mary’s
While SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia received a 2025 patient experience award from Healthgrades, the organization reports the hospital received a 58% patient experience rating in 2026, 8% lower than the national average.
The BND has contacted staff with SSM Health for comment about the Healthgrades recognition.
St. Mary’s performed “worse than expected” in two safety categories, “bloodstream infection following surgery” and “deep blood clots in the lungs or legs following surgery.”
Do you have a question about health care in Illinois for the News-Democrat? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Metro-east Matters form below.
