From Caribou to York, Maine hospitals up their game in this year's US News rankings

Maine hospitals upped their rankings in this year’s annual evaluation by U.S. News & World Report.

The magazine's national report card, now in its 33rd year, evaluated over 4,500 hospitals throughout the U.S. and gave generally high marks to 40 acute health care facilities in Maine.

For the 10th year in a row, Maine Medical Center earned the No. 1 rank in the state. The Portland hospital, the 700-bed flagship of the MaineHealth system, was also recognized as “high performing” in 14 common procedures and condition treatments, out of 30 that were studied.

The number of Maine Med’s high-performing specialties is up from 13 last year, and this year the roster ranges from abdominal aortic aneurysm repair to transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center ranked as the second-best hospital statewide. The 411-bed Bangor facility, part of the Northern Light Health system, received high-performing evaluations in seven procedures and conditions, up from six last year.

Only the state's two largest hospitals received rankings. In total, 15 Maine hospitals got high-performance ratings, compared to nine last year. This year’s high performers are:

Cary Medical Center, in Caribou, which received one high-performance rating
Central Maine Medical Center, in Lewiston, one rating
Down East Community Hospital, in Machias, one rating
LincolnHealth, in Damariscotta, one rating
Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, in Ellsworth, one rating
MaineGeneral Medical Center, in Augusta, four ratings
Maine Medical Center, in Portland, 14 ratings
Mid Coast Hospital, in Brunswick, two ratings
Mount Desert Island Hospital, in Bar Harbor, one rating
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, in Bangor, seven ratings
Northern Light Mercy Hospital, in Portland, five ratings
Northern Maine Medical Center, in Fort Kent, one rating
Redington-Fairview General Hospital, in Skowhegan, one rating
Southern Maine Health Care-Biddeford Medical Center, one rating
Stephens Memorial Hospital, in Norway, one rating
St. Joseph Hospital, in Bangor, one rating
York Hospital, in York, two ratings.

Fewer than a third of all hospitals received any rating in this year’s study, U.S. News said.

Commenting on Maine Med’s performance, MMC President Jeff Sanders said, “MMC’s care team does extraordinary work and it is gratifying to see their efforts reflected in the U.S. News ratings year after year. Ten years is a long time to be rated as number one in the state, and it’s a reflection of our team’s consistent dedication to quality patient-centered care.”