A hospital network is a public, non-profit or for-profit company or organization that provides two or more hospitals and other broad healthcare facilities and services. A hospital network may include hospitals in one or more regions within one or more states within one or more countries. A hospital network has one headquarters, usually within one of the regions served by the network facilities. (The terms hospital system and health care system are used more broadly to define the organization of people, institutions, and resources that deliver health care services to meet the health needs of a region or country.)
History
Some of the earliest hospital networks were affiliated with charitable, religious organizations. The Catholic Church established a hospital network in medieval Europe that was vastly improved from the merely reciprocal hospitality of the Greeks and family-based obligations of the Romans. These hospitals were established to cater to "particular social groups marginalized by poverty, sickness, and age," according to historian of hospitals, Guenter Risse.[1]
In the late 20th century hospital networks were established to make delivery of healthcare more efficient and to share specialized medical services and physicians across the network. To avoid financial losses due to shrinking reimbursements and rising costs as well as improving quality of care and avoid duplication of services, hospitals may consolidate certain services at one hospital. However, patients may need to travel farther if those services are no longer offered at their local hospital.[2][3][4]
Largest hospital networks
Hospital networks that do not have reliable sources may not be included; these are not necessarily complete lists.
Ranked by capacity
This is a list of hospital networks with a capacity of more than 2,500 beds.
Ranked by staff
This is a list of hospital networks with at least 20,000 staff.
By country
United States
The largest hospital networks headquartered in the United States are included in the table below. The name, headquarters location, number of hospitals, funding type and founding year are given for each network.[34] As of 2023, there were 6,129 hospitals in the United States.[35]
Notes:
Canadian headquartered hospital networks
- Alberta Health Services, Province of Alberta, 106 hospitals
- Scarborough Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, 3 hospitals
- Sinai Health System, Toronto, Ontario, 2 hospitals
See also
- Health system
- History of hospitals
References
- Guenter B Risse. Mending Bodies, Saving Souls: A History of Hospitals Oxford University Press, April 1999^
- Summit's maternity facility to be folded into Alta Bates September 16, 2001 ANG News Online. Accessed September 3, 2007.^
- History of Hospitals Penn Nursing, retrieved November 16, 2020