ChristianaCare Earns National Recognition for Patient Safety and Hospital Quality

ChristianaCare has earned national recognition for excellence in health care quality and patient safety, with top distinctions from Newsweek and The Leapfrog Group. “These awards reflect the extraordinary commitment of our caregivers,” said Kert Anzilotti, M.D., MBA, FACR, chief physician executive and president of the Medical Group of ChristianaCare. “Their everyday dedication to patient safety — preventing harm, strengthening trust and caring for every patient — defines ChristianaCare and makes the safety of our patients our highest priority. As a result, hospitals across ChristianaCare continue to earn top safety grades.”

The Spring 2026 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals nationwide for their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other forms of patient harm. ChristianaCare’s Christiana Hospital, Union Hospital and Wilmington Hospital each received an “A” grade, Leapfrog’s highest rating for patient safety. The Spring 2026 results reflect strong patient safety performance across ChristianaCare’s hospitals, with each campus demonstrating distinct strengths based on nationally reported data:

• Christiana Hospital continued to outperform national averages in the safety measures that have the greatest impact on preventing patient harm, including ICU physician staffing and medication safety systems. Strong and consistent results in infection prevention and harm reduction supported the hospital’s continued ‘A’ grade.
• Union Hospital strengthened its already high safety performance in Spring 2026 by delivering safer care and better communication for patients. The hospital continued to reduce serious, preventable safety events, reinforcing its commitment to high quality care.
• Wilmington Hospital earned its Spring 2026 ‘A’ grade by sustaining strong, consistent performance in core patient safety practices and outcomes. High performance in nurse staffing, medication safety and prevention of serious complications remained steady year over year.

These results reflect a strong systemwide commitment to patient safety and care quality. ChristianaCare’s The Way service standards guide how patients and families are treated, emphasizing consistency, respect and compassion. In parallel, the health system has strengthened infection prevention efforts, including a focus on hand hygiene—and reduced serious complications through improved clinical documentation and clear care standards that help identify risks early and prevent harm. The Leapfrog Group assigns an ‘A,’ B,’ C,’ D’ or ‘F’ grade to hospitals across the country based on over 30 performance measures reflecting the prevention of errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

In addition to its patient safety achievements, ChristianaCare was recognized in  Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2026 – United States rankings, placing No. 100 nationally among 420 U.S. hospitals recognized this year. The annual ranking, produced by Newsweek in collaboration with Statista Inc., evaluates general hospitals based on hospital quality metrics, patient experience, peer recommendations and patient reported outcome measures. The recognition highlights ChristianaCare’s performance across multiple measures of care quality, patient experience and clinical outcomes.

Together, the Leapfrog and Newsweek recognitions add to a growing list of recent quality and safety honors ChristianaCare has received, including:

• ChristianaCare's Rehabilitation Center at Wilmington Hospital was named Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers by Newsweek and ranked No. 1 in Delaware.
• ChristianaCare is rated the No. 1 hospital in Delaware by U.S. News & World Report.
• ChristianaCare again earned Beacon Awards for Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, receiving 10 awards overall, with seven patient care units at Christiana Hospital and Wilmington Hospital earning Gold and Silver designations across intensive care and transitional care units.