Are you looking for the best hospitals in South Carolina?
Best Hospital in South Carolina: Medical University of South Carolina
Every year, U.S. News & World Report evaluates hospitals in every state and gives them a ranking based on their performance with certain procedures and conditions as well as their specialties. Despite evaluating 89 South Carolina hospitals, only nine met the high U.S. News & World Report standards. The best South Carolina hospital, according to this list, is Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston. This marks the tenth year in a row that MUSC was ranked number one, with three adult specialties and 16 procedures and conditions considered “high performing”. MUSC is also nationally ranked in one adult specialty and four pediatric specialties. (Health.USNews.com)
The three adult specialties are:
- Cancer
- Neurology and neurosurgery
- Urology
Nationally ranked specialties:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Pediatric cardiology and heart surgery (#2 in the nation)
- Pediatric cancer
- Pediatric gastroenterology and GI surgery
- Pediatric nephrology
How does US News & World Report evaluate hospitals?
Each hospital evaluated by U.S. News & World report were judged by two criteria:
- Specialty rankings – “…meant for patients with life-threatening or rare conditions who need a hospital that excels in treating complex, high-risk cases.” These rankings help if you have a rare condition or may have a difficult diagnosis that isn’t treated at many facilities.
- Procedure and condition ratings – “…focus on specific, common procedures and conditions, such as hip replacement and heart failure, rather than broader specialties like orthopedics and cardiology. These ratings reflect how well hospitals perform in each procedure or condition for the full range of patients – not just the most complex, challenging cases as in the specialty rankings.” (Health.USNews.com)
Top South Carolina hospitals also on the list
The other eight top SC hospitals on the list include:
- Lexington Medical Center in Columbia
- Roper Hospital in Charleston
- Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in Myrtle Beach
- Bon Secours St. Francis Health System – Greenville
- Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital
- Spartanburg Medical Center
- Trident Medical Center in Spartanburg
- Prisma Health Richland Hospital in Columbia
Of these eight, only two (Lexington Medical Center and Prisma Health Richland Hospital) are in the Midlands of South Carolina (Health.USNews.com).
Another Top Hospital in South Carolina
Lexington Medical Center in Columbia has placed on this short list four years in a row. They rank second again this year. This hospital was considered high performing for 15 adult procedures and conditions. Some of these include:
- Cancer
- Cardiology
- Gastroenterology
- Neurology
- Orthopedics
- Pulmonology
- Urology
The average patient experience is a rating of four out of five stars. (HealthUSNews.com)
Safest Hospitals in South Carolina
“The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit watchdog organization that serves as a voice for health care consumers and purchasers, using their collective influence to foster positive change in U.S. health care.” This medical watchdog group publishes hospital safety scores biannually, in the spring and in the fall. These ratings are based on errors, accidents and infections.
In The Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2025 Hospital Safety Grades, “South Carolina ranked fifth among states with the safest hospitals overall, with 47.1% of its facilities earning an A ranking.” The State Newspaper
In Spring 2025, South Carolina was one of six states in the nation with the highest percentage of A grades, along with Utah, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Virginia.
Of the 52 ranked hospitals in SC, 24 received an ‘A’ grade, 11 received a ‘B’, 15 received a ‘C’, and 1 received a ‘D’. Cherokee Medical Center in Gaffney did not respond to the survey. Therefore, they received no grade. No SC hospitals received a grade of ‘F’.
The Leap Frog Group grading method
The Leap Frog safety grades are based on two domains: Process/Structural Measures and Outcome Measures
- “Process Measures represent how often a hospital gives patients recommended treatment for a given medical condition or procedure. For example, “Responsiveness of hospital staff” looks at patients’ feedback on how long it takes for a staff member to respond when they request help. Structural Measures represent the environment in which patients receive care. For example, “Doctors order medications through a computer” represents whether a hospital uses a special computerized system to prevent errors when prescribing medications.
- Outcome Measures represent what happens to a patient while receiving care. For example, “Dangerous object left in patient’s body” measures how many times a patient undergoing surgery had a dangerous foreign object, like a sponge or tool, left in his or her body.” (TheState.com)
To learn more about how these grades are determined and how to find your hospital’s rating, go to The Leapfrog Group .
It is important not to reject emergency treatment due to any of these rankings. Instead ask your doctor which hospital may be best for treatment.
To find the most up to date information on best hospitals in South Carolina, go to the Medicare.gov website.
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