9 Sentara hospitals named to Forbes Top Hospitals 2026 list

Forbes magazine has published its first-ever list of America's Top Hospitals, and nine Sentara hospitals are ranked among the best in the nation for 2026. The list was developed from surveys of 5,400 acute care hospitals, using verified clinical outcomes data and other key criteria that consumers care about.

The magazine's five-star rating system awarded three Sentara hospitals with a five-star overall rating. Five Sentara hospitals received four-star ratings, and one received a three-star rating. They are among just 2,600 hospitals that made it onto the inaugural list.

The basis of Forbes' methodology is data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Provider Data Catalog (PDC). From this national database, Forbes focused on patient outcomes, best practices, value, and patient experience in creating their list of top hospitals.

Sentara hospitals on the Forbes Top Hospitals 2026 list include:

• Sentara Norfolk General Hospital (Norfolk, Virginia)
• Sentara Leigh Hospital (Norfolk, Virginia)
• Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital (Virginia Beach, Virginia) 
• Sentara Princess Anne Hospital (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
• Sentara Obici Hospital (Suffolk, Virginia)
• Sentara Careplex Hospital (Hampton, Virginia)
• Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center (Williamsburg, Virginia)
• Sentara RMH Medical Center (Harrisonburg, Virginia)
• Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital (Charlottesville, Virginia)

Patient outcomes include mortality rates, infection rates, and readmissions. These criteria were chosen because they are accepted measures of quality care and have been tested to create national benchmarks for clinical performance.

According to Forbes, the goal of the new list is "to provide consumers with unbiased information on which hospitals can offer top-notch, high-value medical services, no matter where they are in the country."