Six AcuityPlus Partners Recognized as Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report
Why Leading Health Systems Prioritize Acuity-Based Staffing
U.S. News & World Report recently published its 2025-2026 Best Hospitals’ list, and four AcuityPlus client hospitals were named to the “Best Hospitals Honor Roll.” This list highlights the top 20 hospitals delivering exceptional outcomes, patient experience, and multidisciplinary excellence. Additionally, the top two hospitals recognized as “Best Hospitals for Rehabilitation” are AcuityPlus users. These hospitals are recognized for their excellence in complex, high-acuity patient care.
AcuityPlus by Harris OnPoint is proud to contribute to the operational excellence at the awarded hospitals, and we share our congratulations with all institutions included in the 2025-2026 list. “We are delighted to see trusted AcuityPlus partners, including four of the top twenty hospitals and the top two rehabilitation hospitals, on this year’s list. Our solution and our team are committed to providing a nursing workload solution that truly makes a difference in the hospitals we work with, and our clients’ recognition by U.S. News & World Report demonstrates the impact AcuityPlus makes on patient care, outcomes, and nursing resource optimization,” said Chad K. Novitski, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Harris OnPoint.
How U.S. News & World Report Determines the Best Hospitals
The U.S. News & Work Report Best Hospitals Honor Roll recognizes institutions that excel across multiple high-acuity specialties, procedures, and critical quality measures. The methodology is grounded in both quantitative and qualitative data, incorporating:
- Patient outcomes
- Patient experience
- Care-related indicators (i.e., nurse staffing, hospital volume)
- Expert opinion by board-certified physicians
Among these, nursing care—specifically staffing levels and workload intensity—carries measurable weight in the scoring algorithm. Hospitals that maintain fair nurse-patient assignments and demonstrate consistent RN involvement in direct care tend to outperform peers in safety, efficiency, and patient satisfaction. Nursing is not ancillary to hospital performance; it is foundational.
Why Acuity-Based Staffing Matters for High-Performing Hospitals
Despite the more common use of nurse-to-patient ratios and staffing grids, these models often fail to capture the real-time clinical demands nurses face. AcuityPlus addresses this gap with a standardized, real-time nursing workload solution that reflects actual patient needs; not assumptions based on census or diagnosis alone.
By integrating objective acuity indicators and care setting-specific methodologies, AcuityPlus helps hospitals:
- Align staffing assignments with real-time patient acuity and complexity
- Improve workload equity across nursing staff
- Track quality benchmarks and compare these internally and externally
- Improve retention and staff satisfaction by utilizing a fair and sustainable staffing model
This is directly connected to the metrics that U.S. News & World Report and other rating agencies evaluate hospital performance. It is particularly true in high-acuity, multidisciplinary environments.
A Strategic Decision Among Top Hospitals
The use of AcuityPlus by multiple Honor Roll and nationally ranked specialty hospitals demonstrates a strategic alignment between optimally managing nursing resources and organizational excellence. This trend is especially evident in complex care settings, such as rehabilitation hospitals, where patients’ conditions can evolve rapidly and traditional staffing models may fail to reflect shifting intensity. With the top two ranked rehabilitation hospitals in the U.S. utilizing AcuityPlus, it is evident that the standardized solution contributes to a hospital’s efficiency and effectiveness in patient care.
Connect with us to learn more about how AcuityPlus supports the leading hospitals in the U.S., and how it can support your organization goals and needs.
