Healthcare Insights

Top trauma centers by net patient revenue

Net patient revenue (NPR), the aggregate money generated from patient services collected from payors, is a financial metric that can indicate the financial health of a healthcare organization or places of care, including trauma centers. Net patient revenue is calculated by subtracting patient discounts from total patient revenue.

What is a trauma center?

A trauma center is a healthcare facility that has met specified requirements to be designated as a trauma center. The criteria that define trauma center designations may vary by state.

There are five levels of trauma center designations (level I, II, III, IV, or V) in both the adult and pediatric categories. The amount of resources needed to care for patients increases as the level of trauma center increases, with level V being the lowest level trauma center and level I trauma center being the highest.

Each type of trauma center provides a different level of care for patients.

  • Level I trauma centers can provide complete care for traumatic injuries. This includes stages from prevention to rehabilitation.
  • Level II trauma centers are capable of initiating care for all patients.
  • Level III trauma centers provide injury assessment, resuscitation, surgery and intensive care, and stabilization for patients with traumatic injuries.
  • Level IV trauma centers provide advanced trauma life support before patients are transferred to a higher-level center.
  • Level V trauma centers evaluate and stabilize patients, provide diagnostic capabilities, then transfer patients to a higher-level center.

The American College of Surgeons verifies these facilities as trauma centers based on standards of resources available at the sites.

How many trauma centers are in the U.S.?

Definitive Healthcare tracks 2,229 trauma centers. In the U.S., there are 2,076 adult trauma centers and 153 pediatric trauma centers.

The most common trauma center designation in the U.S. is adult level IV (953 centers) and the least common is pediatric level V (0 centers).

Using the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product, we have listed the top 25 trauma centers in the U.S. by net patient revenue. Data is from the Medicare Cost report and is from the most recent 12-month interval tracked in our database.

Top trauma centers by net patient revenue

RankHospital nameCityStateDefinitive IDNet patient revenueExplore dataset
1NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical CenterNew YorkNY541974$6,880,604,656 Explore
2Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashvilleTN3742$5,039,872,795 Explore
3University HospitalColumbiaMO274095$4,732,350,283 Explore
4University HospitalAnn ArborMI2096$4,242,119,016 Explore
5Stanford Hospital - 300 Pasteur DrStanfordCA588$4,183,895,185 Explore
6Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterLos AngelesCA430$3,716,279,787 Explore
7Massachusetts General HospitalBostonMA1973$3,504,058,795 Explore
8Yale New Haven HospitalNew HavenCT731$3,445,415,196 Explore
9Mayo Clinic Hospital - Saint Marys CampusRochesterMN2191$3,317,828,896 Explore
10IU Health Methodist HospitalIndianapolisIN1365$3,113,206,365 Explore
11Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical CenterOrlandoFL872$3,049,724,845 Explore
12University of California Davis Medical Center (AKA UC Davis Medical Center)SacramentoCA515$2,965,455,011 Explore
13Atrium Health Carolinas Medical CenterCharlotteNC3003$2,931,823,059 Explore
14UC San Diego Medical CenterSan DiegoCA550$2,880,701,434 Explore
15Brigham and Womens HospitalBostonMA1969$2,798,569,563 Explore
16Strong Memorial HospitalRochesterNY2818$2,702,464,192 Explore
17Duke University HospitalDurhamNC2973$2,675,540,231 Explore
18Northside Hospital AtlantaAtlantaGA1000$2,578,616,056 Explore
19Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar CrestAllentownPA3525$2,576,510,892 Explore
20University of Utah HospitalSalt Lake CityUT4222$2,555,439,616 Explore
21Spectrum Health Butterworth HospitalGrand RapidsMI2035$2,532,885,733 Explore
22UNC Medical Center (FKA University of North Carolina Hospitals - Memorial Hospital)Chapel HillNC3015$2,514,892,252 Explore
23Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (AKA CHOP)PhiladelphiaPA3567$2,499,301,794 Explore
24Houston Methodist Hospital (FKA the Methodist Hospital)HoustonTX4012$2,451,664,380 Explore
25The Johns Hopkins HospitalBaltimoreMD1914$2,430,787,441 Explore

Fig. 1. Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product. Data is from the Medicare Cost Report and displayed according to the most recent 12-month interval tracked in our database. Data accessed June 2023.

What are the top trauma centers in the U.S. based on net patient revenue?

The top trauma center in the U.S. by net patient revenue is NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, with an NPR of $6.8 billion. NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center is designated as a level I trauma center and level II pediatric trauma center. Located in New York City, this trauma center is in the most densely populated city in the entire country, which likely leads to high patient volume and higher NPR. This facility also tops the list of largest hospitals in New York by NPR and the list of top U.S. hospitals by total surgeries.

In second place is Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which has a net patient revenue of $5.04 billion. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is located in Nashville, which makes the list of the top 25 most densely populated cities in the U.S., meaning there are likely more patients who could contribute to a higher NPR. This level I trauma center also ranks 16 on the list of top hospitals by surgeries and at number five in the list of top U.S. hospitals by net patient revenue. Additionally, Vanderbilt University Medical Center ranks as number nine in the list of the largest academic medical centers in the U.S.

University Hospital (Columbia, MO) is the third top trauma center by net patient revenue. University Hospital has an NPR of 4.7 billion. This level I trauma center is also a rural hospital and the only designated trauma center in Columbia, which is central to the state of Missouri.

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