UCI Medical Center named one of America’s Great Hospitals
Hospital is the only one in Orange County recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review for innovation, patient safety
Orange, Calif. — UCI Medical Center, the flagship of UCI Health, has been recognized as one of America’s Great Hospitals of 2024 by Becker’s Hospital Review. It is the only hospital in Orange County to appear on the list.
To earn the achievement, the academic health system demonstrated industry-leading excellence across multiple areas, including patient satisfaction, quality, clinical innovation, groundbreaking research and educational excellence.
"This recognition reflects the distinction of UCI Health when it comes to industry-leading patient care, clinical innovation and treatment of the most complex conditions,” says UCI Health President and CEO Chad T. Lefteris. “We are steadfast in our commitment and focus to improve the health of the communities we serve.”
The entry reads, in part:
“Home to the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Orange County, UCI Health offers top-tier care for complex conditions. Its flagship, UCI Medical Center, includes the county’s only level I trauma center, level II pediatric trauma center and a regional burn center. Leading over 400 clinical trials, UCI Health provides patients with access to novel therapies.
UCI Health recently enrolled participants in a new expanded access protocol for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The upcoming Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center on the Irvine campus will triple its cancer care capacity.”
Academic medicine in south Orange County
This year, the first two phases of the $1.3 billion UCI Health ― Irvine campus opened and began seeing patients.
The Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care, which opened in late April, and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building, which opened in July, will broaden access to the advanced specialty and cancer care offered by UCI Health, one of the largest academic health systems in California.
These new facilities are designed to offer comprehensive and specialized care, utilizing the latest technology and research to improve patient outcomes. For example, shortly after the new cancer center opened in Irvine, UCI Health became the first health system in Southern California to use photon-computed tomography scanning.
In 2025, a seven-story, 144-bed acute care hospital with outpatient operating suits and a 24-hour emergency department.
The entire medical campus is the first in the nation to be powered by an all-electric central utilities plant.
Commitment to patient care, quality
This June, UCI Medical Center in Orange, part of UCI Health, received rated a four-star patient experience rating by Medicare. The rating is based on feedback from a survey of hundreds of discharged patients. It also scored a nearly perfect 95/100 score in the 2024 Human Rights Campaign Equality Index.
The medical center has also consistently received recognition from national quality organizations, including:
- Top 10 performer nationally in the 2023 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Annual Ranking by Vizient Inc.
- Top 10 ambulatory system nationwide, Vizient Inc.
- Top Hospital 2023, The Leapfrog Group
- ‘A’ in spring 2024 and fall 2023 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade
Read more
- Becker's Hospital Review: Great Hospitals in America ›
- UCI Medical Center earns four-star patient experience rating from Medicare ›
- UCI Health selected for nationwide collaborative to accelerate expansion of age-friendly care for older adults ›
- UCI Medical Center and UCI Health Community Network hospitals recognized for quality stroke care ›
About UCI Health
UCI Health, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, a 459-bed, acute care hospital in Orange, Calif., four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and ambulatory care centers across the region. Recognized as a Top Hospital by The Leapfrog Group, UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
About UCI Health — Irvine
UCI Health — Irvine, a new medical complex at the north end of the UC Irvine campus, is bringing unparalleled expertise and the finest evidence-based care that only an academic health system can offer to the communities of coastal and south Orange County. As part of UCI Health — which includes the flagship UCI Medical Center in Orange, Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and multiple outpatient care locations — the new 1.2 million-square-foot campus will offer key clinical programs in oncology, digestive health, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics and spine surgery. The nation’s first medical center powered by an all-electric central utilities plant, UCI Health — Irvine is home to the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care, a five-story, 168,000-square-foot medical facility offering multidisciplinary specialty care for children and adults, urgent care services, the Center for Children’s Health and the UCI Health Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building, a five-story, 225,000-square-foot structure. Coming in 2025: a seven-story, 350,000-square-foot, acute care hospital and emergency department.