Mather Hospital Earns 2026 Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award

Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson placed among the top 10% of hospitals nationwide for patient safety after earning the 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Award from Healthgrades, the hospital announced March 11. Healthgrades had published the full list of winners one day earlier, on March 10, recognizing facilities that "excel at providing top-quality care while preventing serious safety events during hospital stays," with rankings derived from an analysis of federal hospital data.

"This is an incredibly proud moment for Mather Hospital," said Kevin McGeachy, the hospital's president. "Achieving the 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Award from Healthgrades is not just an accolade; it's a powerful affirmation of our fundamental promise to our community: to provide the safest, most patient-centered care possible. This recognition is a direct result of the extraordinary dedication and vigilance of our entire staff, whose hard work makes this level of excellence attainable."

The 249-bed, non-profit community teaching hospital has assembled a notable string of quality recognitions in recent years. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded Mather its third consecutive top five-star rating for outcomes, patient experience, and process. The American Nurses Credentialing Center has granted Mather the Magnet recognition three times for nursing excellence and innovations in professional practice. U.S. News & World Report's 2025-2026 Best Hospitals rankings rated the hospital high performing in gastroenterology and GI surgery.

The Healthgrades honor is part of a broader pattern across Northwell Health's Long Island network. Huntington Hospital received the Patient Safety Excellence Award for the eighth consecutive year, spanning 2019 through 2026, and has been ranked among the top 5% of short-term acute-care hospitals nationwide for patient safety for seven straight years. Plainview Hospital reached the top 5% mark for the fifth consecutive year, while Long Island Jewish Medical Center achieved that distinction for the third year running. Glen Cove Hospital and North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset joined Mather in the top 10% tier.

Peter Silver, MD, MBA, senior vice president and chief quality officer at Northwell, credited frontline workers across the system for the sustained recognition. "This sustained recognition is a direct reflection of the extraordinary dedication and vigilance of every team member across our health system," Silver said. "They tirelessly champion a robust culture of hospital safety, continuously innovating and refining our practices to ensure the highest quality outcomes and the safest possible environment for the communities we are privileged to serve."

Alana Biggers, a medical advisor at Healthgrades, said the award carries practical value for patients weighing their options. "The data behind this year's Patient Safety Excellence Award highlights how measurable improvements in safety can prevent thousands of complications," Biggers said. "Hospitals that prioritize evidence-based safety practices not only achieve better clinical outcomes, but also cultivate a culture where patients come first. These insights give individuals and families the information they need to make confident and better-informed healthcare decisions."

Huntington Hospital, Glen Cove Hospital, and Mather were also among five Northwell hospitals that earned five stars in the CMS 2025 Star Quality Rating System, underscoring a pattern of overlapping recognition across multiple independent evaluation frameworks.