Today, a meaningful but shrinking share of hospitals in the U.S. remain stand-alone, or “independent.” These hospitals are not part of major multi-hospital systems or integrated delivery networks (IDNs) and account for nearly 20% of all hospitals nationwide.
Despite their smaller share of the overall market, independent hospitals continue to play an important role in the healthcare system. Their independence allows for community-focused decision-making, flexibility in organizational models, and responsiveness to local needs, particularly in rural or underserved regions.
However, staying autonomous is increasingly challenging. Rising costs, labor shortages, and the appeal of shared resources and purchasing power have driven many hospitals to consolidate or affiliate with larger systems in recent decades.
Only a small subset of independent hospitals operate at a larger scale, yet these hospitals maintain mission-driven care and community connection that larger systems may find difficult to replicate.
The following list highlights the top independent hospitals in the U.S. by staffed-bed count, based on data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product.
| Rank | Hospital | HQ state | Staffed beds | Hospital type | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parkland Health | TX | 790 | Short-term acute care hospital | Explore |
| 2 | Grady Health System | GA | 786 | Short-term acute care hospital | Explore |
| 3 | Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center | FL | 782 | Short-term acute care hospital | Explore |
| 4 | The University of Tennessee Medical Center | TN | 698 | Short-term acute care hospital | Explore |
| 5 | Hebrew SeniorLife - Hebrew Rehabilitation Center | MA | 667 | Long-term acute care hospital | Explore |
| 6 | Western Regional Medical Facility - John Montford Unit | TX | 550 | Psychiatric hospital | Explore |
| 7 | Lexington Medical Center | SC | 549 | Short-term acute care hospital | Explore |
| 8 | University Medical Center (UMC) of Southern Nevada | NV | 518 | Short-term acute care hospital | Explore |
| 9 | Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo | CO | 516 | Psychiatric hospital | Explore |
| 10 | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | NY | 514 | Short-term acute care hospital | Explore |
Fig. 1 Analysis of data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product. Accessed November 2025.
What are the largest independent hospitals?
Among independent hospitals in the U.S., Parkland Health in Texas tops the list with 790 staffed beds, followed by Grady Health System in Georgia and Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center in Florida.
While most hospitals listed are short-term acute care centers, the dataset also includes major specialty institutions such as Hebrew SeniorLife’s long-term care hospital in Massachusetts and psychiatric facilities like the John Montford Unit in Texas and Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo. The list reflects the diversity of large-scale providers serving high-volume or high-acuity populations across the country.
How many hospitals in the U.S. are independent?
HospitalView tracks 1,428 independent hospitals, which represent about 20% of the 7,450 total U.S. hospitals
What is the average size of an independent hospital?
Independent hospitals tend to be smaller than healthcare system-owned hospitals. The average number of staffed beds for the 1,428 independent hospitals tracked in HospitalView is 63. The average bed size across all U.S. hospitals is 129.
What is an independent hospital?
Independent hospitals are not owned or operated by a healthcare system, or integrated delivery network (IDN). In the HospitalView product, independent hospitals do not have a network affiliation listed. Our data and research teams use a number of resources to verify and update healthcare facility affiliations daily.
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