Healthgrades Awards UAMS Five-Star Ratings for Heart Failure, Pneumonia and Sepsis
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received five-star ratings for its treatment of heart failure, pneumonia and sepsis from Healthgrades, the leading resource used by consumers to find a health care provider.
The 2026 specialty ratings, released today, place UAMS among the top 10% of hospitals nationwide recognized for exceptional clinical performance in cardiac, pulmonary and critical care areas.
This marks the third year in a row that UAMS has received a five-star rating for its treatment of heart failure and the second consecutive year that it has received a five-star ranking for its treatment of sepsis.
“These achievements reflect UAMS’ commitment to consistently delivering the best care possible and place the organization in the upper echelon of hospitals for specialty care nationwide,” according to Healthgrades.
Michelle Krause, M.D., senior vice chancellor of UAMS Health and CEO of UAMS Medical Center, said UAMS is grateful for the recognition, which provides important guidance for people needing specialized care.
“As the only academic medical center in Arkansas, we provide a unique blend of expertise that combines the knowledge of many disciplines in one place,” she said. “Our clinicians regularly reach out to one another to ensure that our patients’ needs are considered from every angle. At the same time, as a research institution, we have access to emerging technologies that boost our ability to provide the very best care available. This unique combination of skill and cutting-edge resources offers advantages for our patients that aren’t available anywhere else.”
The Healthgrades ratings are based on data collected from about 4,500 hospitals nationwide on all Medicare patients who used hospital in-patient services in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
They are based solely on what matters most — patient outcomes.
Emphasizing that performance gaps persist between the nation’s highest- and lowest-achieving facilities, Healthgrades said it is increasingly important to seek care at top-rated programs.
“Our 2026 analysis revealed that if all hospitals as a group performed similarly to five-star hospitals during the 2022-2024 study period, on average, 230,466 lives could potentially have been saved, and 156,797 complications could potentially have been avoided,” Healthgrades said.
For its 2026 Specialty Excellence awards, Healthgrades compared hospitals with statistically better-than-expected performance (those with five-star ratings), as a group, to those with statistically worse-than-expected performance (those with just one star), as a group, and found that:
- Patients treated for heart failure in five-star hospitals had, on average, a 61% lower risk of dying than if they were treated in a one-star hospital.
- Patients treated for sepsis in five-star hospitals had, on average, a 39% lower risk of dying than if they were treated in a one-star hospital.
“Healthgrades’ specialty awards identify the nation’s top-performing hospitals in key service areas, helping consumers find high quality care tailored to their specific needs,” said Alana Biggers, M.D., MPH, medical advisor at Healthgrades. “We’re proud to recognize UAMS for its consistently superior outcomes in these key service areas.”
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.
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