Baystate Wing Hospital Recognized on National Forbes’ Top Hospitals List

Palmer, MASS. - Baystate Health is proud to announce that Baystate Wing Hospital has been named to the inaugural Forbes Top Hospitals 2026 list, earning national recognition and a four-star ranking for delivering compassionate, quality, accessible care.

Forbes developed its first-ever Top Hospitals list to provide patients, families, and communities with a clear, evidence-based resource for evaluating hospital performance across the United States. The list identifies general acute care hospitals that demonstrate sustained excellence in clinical outcomes, operational best practices, value, and patient experience.

A central part of the methodology is its strong focus on clinical outcomes — including mortality, survival, infection, and readmission rates — while accounting for social drivers of health to ensure fair comparisons across regions and populations.

Of the 5,400 acute-care hospitals eligible for consideration, less than 15% received a rating of 4 starts or above, placing Baystate Wing Hospital among the top-performing hospitals in the country.

“Baystate Wing Hospital’s inclusion on the inaugural Forbes Top Hospitals list is an exceptional distinction,” said Peter D. Banko, President and CEO of Baystate Health. “This achievement reflects the remarkable dedication and hard work of our caregivers at Baystate Wing Hospital. Our commitment to advancing the health of the communities we serve remains steadfast and we are honored by the trust our patients place in us each day.”

The Forbes Top Hospitals list was developed in partnership with an advisory panel of clinicians, researchers, health policy leaders, and patient advocates, along with Inovalon, a healthcare data and analytics firm. The methodology emphasizes nationally recognized standards and prioritizes measurable patient outcomes to support consumers in making informed decisions about where to seek care.

Baystate Wing Hospital’s inclusion on this inaugural list reinforces Baystate Health’s ongoing commitment to advancing the health of the communities it serves.

About Baystate Health

Baystate Health, together with its health plan, Health New England, is a not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system and the largest in western Massachusetts. Serving more than 800,000 people across western New England, Baystate includes an academic medical center, children’s hospital, three community hospitals, outpatient practices, home health and hospice services, and a regional health plan. Health New England provides coverage to more than 160,000 members through commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid (MassHealth) plans. United by a mission to improve the health of the people in our communities every day, Baystate Health and Health New England deliver high-quality, compassionate care with a focus on quality, safety, value, and experience.