Clay County Hospital has been recognized among the nation’s best, earning a four-star overall rating in the newly released Forbes Top Hospitals 2026 list. The inaugural rankings highlight high-performing general acute care hospitals across the United States based on outcomes, best practices, value, and patient experience. Illinois was well represented, with 28 hospitals statewide receiving either four- or five-star ratings.
Clay County Hospital received:
4 stars for Patient Experience
3 stars for Value
5 stars for Best Practices
3 stars for Outcomes
These scores combined for an overall 4-star rating from Forbes.
The Forbes ranking system assigns hospitals one to five stars across four major categories, with outcomes carrying the most weight—55%—in the calculations. Outcome measures included 25 publicly reported benchmarks such as surgical infection rates and 30-day readmission statistics. Best practices counted for 20%, value 15%, and patient experience 10%.
More than 5,400 hospitals nationwide were eligible for review, with roughly 2,500 meeting Forbes’ inclusion criteria. Of those, 253 hospitals earned a five-star overall rating and 509 received four stars, including Clay County Hospital.
Forbes, known for its globally recognized rankings and business journalism, says the new Top Hospitals program is intended to help the public better understand healthcare quality and compare providers.
The full list and methodology are available at Forbes.com/lists/top-hospitals.