Paradise Valley Hospital, the small community hospital nestled in San Diego’s South Bay, may not be the largest hospital in San Diego County. We may not have the name-recognition of our peers; and while we are a part of Prime Healthcare, one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States, in San Diego we stand alone.
But being small and quiet does not mean we do not have a voice. It’s the actions of the doctors, nurses, and staff of Paradise Valley Hospital that speak for us. It is through the care that they provide that Paradise Valley Hospital is heard and seen as an institution that can stand confidently with the most prestigious hospitals in the nation. The following are some of our most recent accolades.
Forbes Magazine “Top Hospital” for 2026
This year Paradise Valley Hospital (PVH) has been named a four-star hospital on the Forbes Magazine national listing of “Top Hospitals.” PVH is one of 509 hospitals nation-wide that has earned a four-star rating. Of Prime Healthcare’s 54 hospitals, PVH is one of nine.
Forbes developed the Top Hospitals rankings in collaboration with Inovalon and national quality experts, using validated, publicly reported measures from the CMS Provider Data Catalog. The methodology evaluates key aspects of care, with patient outcomes carrying the greatest weight, and adjusts outcome measures for social drivers of health to support equitable comparisons among hospitals serving diverse populations. Additional details on the Forbes Top Hospitals 2026 methodology are available at forbes.com/lists/top-hospitals.
Leapfrog Grade “A” for Hospital Safety
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national non-profit that advocates for patient safety, awarded PVH an “A” Hospital Safety Grade for the Fall, 2025. This is the hospitals 11th consecutive “A” in the past five years. Leapfrog assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country using evidence-based measures of patient safety focused exclusively on errors, accidents, injuries and infections.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade stands as the only hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day in the United States. This program is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
Paradise Valley Hospital Lauded for “Outstanding Social Responsibility”
In 2025 Paradise Valley Hospital received an “A” grade from the Lown Institute for “outstanding social responsibility.” This means that the hospital showed strong performance across metrics of “health equity, patient outcomes, and value of care” compared to more than 3,500 hospitals nationwide.
PVH ranked 45 out of 258 acute care hospitals in California and 552 out of 2,717 hospitals nationally on the social responsibility metric. According to the Lown Institute Hospital Index, PVH also performed well on Lown’s measure of “Equity,” signifying the hospital’s commitment to including all members of its community and their health. PVH ranks 42 out of 258 in California, and 252 out of 2728 nation-wide. These are independent rankings and hospitals do not apply or pay to be listed.
The Lown Institute describes its Hospital Index as, “…the only ranking to combine metrics of health equity and value of care alongside patient outcomes, for more than 2,700 acute care and 800 critical access hospitals nationwide — offering a holistic view of hospitals as total community partners.” The Lown Index evaluates hospitals on over 50 measures including novel metrics such as community benefit, racial inclusivity, and avoidance of overuse. They draw data from Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage claims, CMS patient safety data and hospital cost reports, and IRS 990 forms, among others.
This is not the only time PVH has been recognized by Lown. In 2021, Lown ranked Paradise Valley Hospital as the top hospital in the nation for “Community Health Investment.” In addition to topping this list, PVH was the only hospital that is for-profit.
PVH on the CMS/Hospital Compare Patient Safety Honor Roll
Paradise Valley Hospital has achieved the distinct honor of being listed on the Patient Safety Honor Roll by the California Health and Human Services Hospital Compare website. The hospital currently sits on the “Tier Two” Honor Roll list for 2025.
In order to be listed on the Patient Safety Honor Roll, hospitals must have high achievement ratings across 12 patient safety measures, and no ratings below the 10th percentile. The patient safety measures include hospital acquired infections, sepsis management, and patient experience.
Becker’s Hospital Review List of Lowest CAUTI Rates
Paradise Valley Hospital is on the Becker’s Hospital Review list of hospitals with zero rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) for 2025. Becker’s compiles this list by referencing the CDC’s Healthcare Associated Infections-Hospital Database that shows “how often patients contract certain infections during the course of medical treatment.” Paradise Valley Hospital is one of only 518 hospitals in the nation named to this prestigious list.
Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award
In 2025 PVH was awarded its 12th consecutive Patient Safety Excellence Award from Healthgrades, “the #1 site Americans use when searching for a doctor or hospital.”
To determine the top-performing hospitals for patient safety, Healthgrades evaluated risk-adjusted complication and mortality rates for approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide. Healthgrades’ analysis revealed significant performance gaps between the nation’s highest- and lowest-achieving facilities, making it increasingly important for consumers to seek care at a hospital with top safety ratings. From 2021-2023, 173,280 preventable safety events occurred among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals, with four patient safety indicators accounting for nearly 76% of these incidents. The annual study found that patients treated in hospitals that received the 2025 Patient Safety Excellence Award have a significantly lower chance of experiencing one of the four leading safety indicators than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals:
- In-hospital falls resulting in fracture (54% less likely)
- Collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest (approximately 55% less likely)
- Pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital (approximately 69% less likely)
- Catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital (72% less likely)
Healthgrades describes itself as a resource that provides, “the most scientifically accurate information about doctors and hospitals–with data insights not available anywhere else,” and has congratulated PVH on winning this award for the past 12 years. “… Paradise Valley Hospital consistently puts the well-being of their patients and staff at the forefront, setting a high standard for patient safety nationwide,” said Debra Gradick, MD FACEP, senior physician consultant at Healthgrades. “We commend Paradise Valley Hospital for providing consistently exceptional care while preventing serious injuries, giving patients their best chance of a seamless recovery.”
Visit us at https://paradisevalleyhospital.com/about-us/awards/ to see a full list of our recent accolades.