Monday, January 19, 2015
RESULTS:
20 Most Beautiful Hospitals in America (2014) are…
After a record-smashing248,116 votes(more than twice that of last year’s edition) the results are in for Soliant Health’s 6th annual list of the 20 Most Beautiful Hospitals in America.
The big story on a number of fronts this year is Utah. Among other firsts, hospitals in “The Beehive State” made this year’s list more than any other, breaking Florida’s three-year streak for this distinction.
Texas appears three times this year (#7, #8, and #14), whileWashington, California,andPennsylvania each appear twice.
All other states appear just once, making for a greater variety of entries than in any other year.
And while there are a decent number of returning entries, most of those have moved dramatically (up anddown) in their rankings between 2013 and 2014.
Though last year’s #1 (plus last-year’s #3 and 4) is absent from this year’s Top 20, our 2014 choice for the #1 spot got 2.4 times the votes of last year’s top entry.
OK, want to know what facility you voted as the most beautiful hospital in America for 2014? Read on…
20. North Valley Health Center, Warren, Minnesota (2,969 votes)
New to our rankings, Warren, Minnesota’s North Valley Health Center is also new to its own community, having opened its doors just over a year ago, doubling the size of the previous health center that served this area.
19. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, California (3,187 votes)
With an innovative healing arts collection and “River of Life” fountain that flows through the gardens of the hospital’s new Spanish Colonial in-patient wing. This Santa Barbara landmark accomplishes one of the great triumphs of hospital architecture: Letting you to forget that you’re in a hospital.
18. Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, Vancouver, Washington(3,879 votes)
The central fountain and healing gardens adjacent to a gorgeous stone-and-glass façade make this south-Washington-state medical center stand out. But it’s the finishing touches – like a grand piano frequently played in the main entrance by staff and volunteers – that really set it apart.
17. Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, East Norriton, Pennsylvania (3,922 votes)
Our #5 hospital from 2013 hangs on to stay in our rankings for 2014 at #17. A five-storey, all-glass atrium gives way to natural hardwood floors and furniture in contemporarily-designed rooms looking out on an artificial lake.
16. Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, Elmhurst, Illinois (4,605 votes)
The runner-up from 2013 takes the 16th spot for 2014 (high-praise, as this it Elmhurst’s 3rd year on our list – it was also #5 in our 2012 rankings.) The building’s stylish looks and comforting feel would make for acceptable-to-excellent accommodations even by the standards of many hotels.
15. Heritage Valley Beaver, Beaver, Pennsylvania (4,778 votes)
This hospital (and the town it serves) hits our rankings for the first time this year. The 361-bed facility features a unique three-football-field-long horizontal layout and a dramatic new three-storey tower next to the main entrance, which was redesigned in 2008.
14. Forest Park Medical Center, Southlake, Texas (4,869 votes)
This brand new medical center is beautiful day-and-night but its enchanting use of light posts, backlighting, and columns of halogen makes us wonder if we should create a set of rankings for The Best-Lit Hospitals in America.
13. Intemountain Medical Center, Murray, Utah (5,077 votes)
Any hospital looks good with the snow-capped mountains of the Salt Lake valley behind it, but this 100-acre healthcare campus (the state’s largest) capitalizes well on its surrounding natural beauty through use of natural colors, textures and light.
12. Palomar Medical Center, Escondido, California (5,645 votes)
This 740,000-square-foot, 11-story complex was once the largest hospital construction project in America. Built as a functional and flexible “garden hospital”, the facility was conceptualized with advice from some of the nation’s leading health-care futurists.
11. Dixie Regional Medical Center, St George, Utah (5,864 votes)
This multiple-award-winning new hospital has received accolades including Becker’s Hospital Review (“100 Greatest Hospitals,” “100 Great Community Hospitals” and “Hospitals with Highest HCAHPS Scores”), National Research Corporation (“2013 Consumers Choice Award”), and WomenCertified “Best Hospitals – Women’s Choice Awards”.
10. Summit Pacific Medical Center, Elma, Washington (6,556 votes)
The embodiment of a modern, welcoming rural healthcare center. It’s no wonder this Washington-state Critical Access hospital cracked the top 10 of our 2014 rankings.
9. Central Harnett Hospital, Lillington, North Carolina (7,651 votes)
They sure know how to design hospitals in the “First In Flight” state, according to nearly 8,000 of our voters. The building’s architecture shows-off the central plaza and healing garden, viewable from almost all parts of the facility.
8. CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System, Texarkana, Texas (9,835 votes)
This is one of the only hospitals on our list this year (or any year) that was wholly-designed more than 20 years ago. Specifically- built to address the spiritual needs of patients, the grounds here feature a 1½ acre lake, wooded walking trails, an outdoor gazebo, sitting areas and specially-designed water features.
7. St. Luke’s Hospital at The Vintage, Houston, Texas (11,380 votes)
A grand staircase in the four-storey glass atrium of this new addition to the Houston skyline wraps around a beautiful tree, accented by a two-storey waterfall. Finished in 2010, the facility incorporates evidence-based principles in its design, with patient rooms built to accommodate family and other visitors.
6. Doctors Memorial Hospital, Bonifay, Florida (13,918 votes)
Northern Florida’s outstanding small hospital holds the line at #6, the exact same position it occupied on our 2013 rankings (though it garnered more than twice the votes as last year.) After a 2008 rebuild-from-the-ground-up, Doctors Memorial remains one of the most profitable critical care hospitals in America.
5. Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center, Carson City, Nevada(15,271 votes)
We could see this hospital being used as an exterior location for any number of big-budget Hollywood sci-fi movies. In the words of hospital officials, the newly-constructed facility is meant to celebrate the wonders of the natural world that surrounds it, “captur[ing] and embracing the healing forces of nature’s elements.”
4. Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah (24,445 votes)
Yet another Utah entry on our 2014 list, this $100-million molecular and genetic National Cancer Institute research facility came in #15 last year (its main hospital came in at #5 in our inaugural listings, in 2009.)
3. Witham Health Services, Lebanon, Indiana (26,052 votes)
One of the most fascinating experiments in patient-driven hospital design, this whole facility was designed so that the patient rarely has to cross a public space after they are registered.
2. Gulf Coast Medical Center, Fort Myers, Florida (26,783 votes)
#13 on our list from last year (2,141 votes), Gulf Coast Medical Center rockets up to become our 2014 runner-up for the Most Beautiful Hospital in America.
The building’s high-ceilinged palm-tree-filled hallways boast extensive water features incorporated into the exterior architecture of this 350-bed facility.
1. McKay-Dee Hospital Center, Ogden, Utah (39,624 votes)
For 2014, Ogden, Utah’s McKay-Dee Hospital Center got nearly a dozen times more votes than it did last year, when it made our rankings for its symmetry and gorgeous artificial lakes, landscaped against the backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains.
It’s the first year a hospital from Utah takes the top spot and the first year Utah has the most hospitals overall in our rankings.
