12 hospitals in Idaho make Forbes top list

From Coeur d’Alene to Caldwell, seven hospitals in the Gem State have been ranked and made the list of top providers in the state and nation.

The Forbes Top Hospitals 2026 evaluated general acute care hospitals across the United States, assigning star ratings to providers, and Idaho institutions landed on the list twelve times.

The top four on the list in terms of overall ratings with five stars each were Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene, St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls, St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center in Ketchum and West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell.

According to Forbes, there are approximately 5,400 general acute care hospitals in the U.S., and 2,500 of those met the publication’s inclusion criteria. Only 253 hospitals received five stars and 509 received four stars. The five- and four-star hospitals topped the final 2026 list, with three-star ratings also listed.

With four stars each, Bingham Memorial Hospital in Blackfoot, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center and Idaho Falls Community Hospital both in Idaho Falls, Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center in Boise and St. Luke’s Nampa Medical Center in Nampa also made the list.

Along with the overall rating, hospitals were also ranked by outcomes, best practices, value and patient experience. “These measures were chosen specifically because they have been developed and regularly tested by leaders in the health care community to meet rigorous national standards,” Forbes wrote on its website.

“Being named a Forbes Top Hospital reflects the commitment our providers and colleagues bring to every patient, every day,” said Dr. Richard Augustus, chief medical officer at West Valley Medical Center. “We are deeply focused on providing care that is safe, compassionate and patient-centered. This recognition reinforces that our attention to best practices, clinical excellence and patient-first care truly makes a difference.”

West Valley was the only one of the seven hospitals that received five stars for nearly every category across the board. It received four stars in the value category. Only St. Luke’s Boise and Magic Valley received five stars in the value category.

Two hospitals in Idaho earned three-star ratings, which were Mountain View Hospital in Idaho Falls and Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center-Boise.

“Central to the methodology is its emphasis on clinical patient outcomes (such as rates of mortality, survival, infection and readmissions),” Forbes noted. “These measures were given the most weight and, therefore, had the most influence on each hospital’s overall rating.”