MetroHealth Named One of Nation's Most Socially Responsible Hospitals

Once again, The MetroHealth System has been recognized by the Lown Institute as one of the nation’s most socially responsible hospitals, earning top marks from the non-partisan think tank for its quality of care, value and commitment to community health. MetroHealth is among only 5% of hospitals in the Lown Institute Hospitals Index to earn top grades in these areas.

In particular, MetroHealth ranked No. 1 in Ohio in Lown’s community benefit and avoiding overuse categories. The community benefit metric is based on hospitals’ spending on financial assistance, Medicaid revenue and investments in other community-focused programs. The overuse category measures a hospital’s ability to avoid tests and procedures that offer little or no clinical benefit. You can see MetroHealth’s full scorecard here.

“Thank you, Lown Institute, for recognizing MetroHealth’s unwavering commitment to our patients and our community,” said MetroHealth President and CEO Christine Alexander-Rager, MD. “No other hospital in America has a more dedicated and passionate staff of caregivers than MetroHealth. This recognition is a direct result of their devotion to our community.”

The 2025-26 Lown Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility is the only ranking to combine metrics of health equity and value of care alongside patient outcomes for more than 3,600 U.S. hospitals — offering a holistic view of hospitals as total community partners. Lown’s sixth annual Index evaluates hospitals on over 50 measures, including novel metrics such as community benefit, racial inclusivity and avoidance of overuse. Data sources include Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage claims, CMS patient safety data and hospital cost reports, and IRS 990 forms, among others. Full methodology can be found on the Lown Index website. 

"Hospitals are facing unprecedented political and financial challenges," said Vikas Saini, MD, President of the Lown Institute. "In this uncertain environment, it's more important than ever to support the socially responsible hospitals who are delivering high-quality care to all in their community."

MetroHealth has been essential to Greater Cleveland for almost 200 years. Some of its community focused work includes:

• Through the MetroHealth Institute for H.O.P.E.™ (Health, Opportunity, Partnership and Empowerment), screening patients for their health-related social needs – things like access to food, safe housing, transportation, job opportunities and the like – and then connecting them with local community agencies that can provide necessary support. The Institute also manages MetroHealth’s Food as Medicine program, which assists patients improve their nutrition as a component of medical treatment and works with other community organizations across the region to offer housing assistance, financial counseling, digital literacy training, social services navigation assistance and more.
• Providing healthcare services to students at more than 25 schools in Cuyahoga County through the nationally recognized MetroHealth School Health Program. In addition to board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners and medical assistants, the School Health Program team includes community health workers who help students whose families are affected by factors beyond traditional medical care that impact health and well-being, including access to safe housing, healthy food, reliable transportation and more.
• Partnering with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to open the Lincoln-West School of Science & Health, the country's only high school inside a hospital. Since opening in 2016, MetroHealth’s employees have supported and encouraged dozens of scholars by hosting interns, serving as guest speakers for classroom presentations, being mentors and more.
• Providing free screenings and medical care at Greater Cleveland homeless shelters, permanent supportive housing facilities, food pantries and social services organizations through our mobile health team. MetroHealth also partners with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless to care for Cleveland’s unsheltered community.
• Through BREAST/Amigas Unidas, provides community outreach and education on breast cancer through a bilingual peer-to-peer grassroots volunteer program where Latina women are trained to educate other women in their communities about breast cancer. The goal is to enhance prevention and screenings in a culturally competent manner that uses existing community networks to augment success.