The largest healthcare systems in the U.S. are growing, mostly through merger and acquisition activity. For example, the 10 largest healthcare systems in 2019 owned about 18% of hospital beds. As of 2024, those same 10 healthcare systems own slightly more than 20% of U.S. hospital beds.
With increasing expenses and dwindling operating margins, it has become increasingly common for independent hospitals to give up their autonomy and affiliate with another hospital or health system. New healthcare network affiliations can help reduce costs and improve the quality of care.
The following list is the top 10 largest independent hospitals by the number of staffed beds, according to data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product.
| Rank | Definitive ID | Hospital name | City | State | # of staffed beds | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3931 | Parkland Health (FKA Parkland Health and Hospital System) | Dallas | TX | 787 | Explore |
| 2 | 912 | Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center | Lakeland | FL | 764 | Explore |
| 3 | 996 | Grady Health System (AKA Grady Memorial Hospital) | Atlanta | GA | 707 | Explore |
| 4 | 3784 | The University of Tennessee Medical Center | Knoxville | TN | 698 | Explore |
| 5 | 6261 | Hebrew SeniorLife - Hebrew Rehabilitation Center | Boston | MA | 667 | Explore |
| 6 | 581777 | Western Regional Medical Facility - John Montford Unit | Lubbock | TX | 550 | Explore |
| 7 | 3654 | Lexington Medical Center | West Columbia | SC | 541 | Explore |
| 8 | 2585 | University Medical Center (UMC) of Southern Nevada | Las Vegas | NV | 537 | Explore |
| 9 | 4787 | Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo | Pueblo | CO | 516 | Explore |
| 10 | 2846 | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | New York | NY | 514 | Explore |
Fig. 1 Analysis of data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product. Data is sourced from the October 2024 Medicare Cost Report release. Accessed December 2024.
What are the largest independent hospitals?
Parkland Health is the largest independent hospital with 787 beds. The hospital is one of the largest hospitals in Texas as well as one of the highest earning in the state.
In second is Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center in Lakeland, Florida with 764 beds. Grady Health System in Atlanta, Georgia, comes in third with 707 beds.
Most of the hospitals on the list are short-term acute care facilities, but a long-term acute care hospital (Hebrew SeniorLife – Hebrew Rehabilitation Center) and psychiatric hospital (Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo) also make an appearance.
How many hospitals in the U.S. are independent?
In the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product, about 1,400 hospitals are not a part of a healthcare system or hospital network, indicating they are an independent facility. Independent hospitals make up about 19% of all U.S. hospitals.
What is the average size of an independent hospital?
Independent hospitals tend to be smaller than healthcare system-owned hospitals. The average number of staffed beds for the 1,443 independent hospitals tracked in HospitalView is 64. The average bed size across all U.S. hospitals is 129.
The top five independent hospitals on the list average 724 beds. In comparison, the five largest hospitals in the U.S. average 1,660 beds.
What is an independent hospital?
Independent hospitals are not owned or operated by a healthcare system, or integrated delivery network (IDN). In the HospitalView product, independent hospitals do not have a network affiliation listed. Our data and research teams use a number of resources to verify and update healthcare facility affiliations on a daily basis.
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