Four Novant Health hospitals rank among nation’s top performers in patient care

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Four Novant Health hospitals have been recognized among the nation's top-performing hospitals, earning Vizient, Inc.'s2026 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award for outstanding performance across key measures of patient care.

The hospitals recognized this year are:

"The expertise, compassion and dedication of our clinicians, nurses and team members are what make high-quality care possible," said Dr. David Priest, senior vice president and chief safety and quality officer for Novant Health. "Whether caring for patients at our community hospitals in Ballantyne and Mint Hill, delivering complex care in Charlotte or supporting children and families in Wilmington, our teams are united by a commitment to providing a remarkable experience and achieving the best possible outcomes. These awards reflect their unwavering commitment to the communities we serve."

The Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award recognizes hospitals that demonstrate superior performance in the Vizient Quality and Accountability Study, which measures performance in six areas: safety, mortality, effectiveness, efficiency, patient centeredness and variation in care. The study helps hospitals and health systems evaluate performance against their peers and identify practices associated with high-quality, safe patient care.

This year, 1,346 participating hospitals were evaluated across seven cohorts. The study incorporates data from the Vizient Clinical Data Base, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Healthcare Safety Network. The 2026 awards reflect performance data from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

This marks the sixth consecutive year Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center has earned a Vizient Quality Leadership Award and the second consecutive year for Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center.