Brookings Health a Six-Year Champion of Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals

  • February 25, 2026
Floor Nurse Lindsey Leljedal, R.N., checks a patient chart with Hospitalist Dr. Jill Kruse, M.D., while working on the inpatient care unit at Brookings Hospital. Brookings Health System was recognized as a six-year champion of Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals. The health system was also recognized with a Patient Experience Award which recognizes hospitals with outstanding performance on CMS’ HCAHPS survey for patient satisfaction.
Floor Nurse Lindsey Leljedal, R.N., checks a patient chart with Hospitalist Dr. Jill Kruse, M.D., while working on the inpatient care unit at Brookings Hospital. Brookings Health System was recognized as a six-year champion of Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals. The health system was also recognized with a Patient Experience Award which recognizes hospitals with outstanding performance on CMS’ HCAHPS survey for patient satisfaction. 

Brookings Health System has been recognized as a six-year champion to Newsweek’s list of World’s Best Hospitals. This prestigious award was announced today by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The awards list can currently be viewed on Newsweek’s website.

“To make the same list for the past six years as global leaders like Mayo Clinic demonstrates that our team sets the benchmark for rural, community-based care,” said CEO and President Jason Merkley. “We live our vision: to be a trusted source of healthcare for our regional community by committing to improve the well-being of our citizens; fostering physician and customer relations; investing in tomorrow’s workforce; delivering operation and service excellence; developing our campus and master plan; and utilizing innovative technology.”

Brookings Health ranks 236 out of 420 of the Best Hospitals 2026 in the United States. In addition, Brookings Health has received a Patient Experience Award which recognizes hospitals with an outstanding performance on the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) HCAHPS survey for patient satisfaction. Newsweek and Statista developed a complex methodology to ensure the quality and validity of the ranking. Four data sources were used for the evaluation:

  • Hospital Quality Metrics: medical indicators such as data on quality of care for treatments, hygiene measures, patient safety and wait times
  • Recommendations from Medical Experts: an online survey sent to tens of thousands doctors, hospital managers and health care professionals in 32 countries
  • Results from Patient Surveys: surveys measuring patient satisfaction with hospitals and the quality of care the patient received
  • Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs): surveys measuring patient satisfaction with hospitals

The World's Best Hospitals 2026 list recognizes the best medical institutions across 32 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

More information about Brookings Health System’s high quality of care can be found at brookingshealth.org/quality.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic & Optical, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga, South Dakota. It is a non-profit, municipal health system that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, emergency and extended care services. Brookings Hospital provides local access to doctors in Brookings and offers robotic da Vinci surgery and Mako robotic-arm assisted procedures, making it one of the premier rural community hospitals in South Dakota. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.