NorthShore Evanston Hospital tied for fourth in Illinois in the 2026-2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings, released Wednesday, Aug. 5, placing Evanston's largest healthcare facility among the top five in the state and earning national recognition in multiple specialties.
The ranking covers Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals as a group, combining data from NorthShore Evanston Hospital, NorthShore Glenbrook Hospital, NorthShore Highland Park Hospital and Endeavor Health Skokie Hospital. Together, the hospitals also ranked fourth in the greater Chicagoland region, according to Evanston Patch.
The system earned national rankings in three specialties: No. 24 in Diabetes & Endocrinology, No. 37 in Orthopedics and No. 49 in Neurology & Neurosurgery, according to the U.S. News hospital profile. Only 178 of the nearly 4,500 hospitals evaluated nationwide performed well enough to be nationally ranked in at least one specialty.
That's a select group.
The hospitals also received "high performing" ratings in more than 20 procedures and conditions, including cancer surgery, heart and vascular procedures, maternity care, hip and knee replacement, stroke treatment and diabetes care.
What changed this year
The 2026-2027 rankings, now in their 37th year, shifted methodology to place greater emphasis on risk-adjusted patient outcomes. U.S. News reduced or eliminated the weight given to hospital size, staffing levels, technology and reputation, NBC Chicago reported. The changes were especially significant in cardiology and heart and vascular surgery, where patient outcomes now determine most of a hospital's score.
U.S. News also introduced new regional specialty rankings this year for cancer, cardiology, heart and vascular surgery, orthopedics and rehabilitation.
Statewide competition
Northwestern Medicine-Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center tied for No. 1 in Illinois. Both made the national Honor Roll of the top 20 hospitals in the country. University of Chicago Medical Center ranked third, and Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn tied with Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals for fourth.
Evanston's healthcare anchor
The Ridge Avenue campus, founded in 1891 during a typhoid fever outbreak, is the flagship facility of the NorthShore system within Endeavor Health. It holds Level 1 trauma center designation and serves as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Evanston Hospital President Gabrielle Cummings leads the campus, though no statement from Endeavor Health leadership about the ranking was available.
Endeavor Health, formed through the 2022 merger of NorthShore University Health System and Edward-Elmhurst Health, is Illinois' third-largest health system with more than 28,300 employees across nine hospitals, according to the company's LinkedIn profile.
The ranking arrives after a financially turbulent stretch. In January 2025, the Evanston RoundTable reported that Endeavor Health was considering layoffs of up to 100 staff after losing more than $120 million in the first three quarters of 2024. The system's current financial position has not been publicly updated.
Patient satisfaction data from U.S. News shows 87% of patients at Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals would recommend the facility, matching the national average and exceeding the Illinois state average of 85%.
