These are the best hospitals in Charlotte, report says. See the full 2026 list

North Carolina is still in the top ten safest states for healthcare, according to a national watchdog.

The Leapfrog Group released its Spring 2026 Hospital Safety Grades evaluating hospitals with letter grades from A to F. North Carolina is tied for 8th in the country with Maryland, a slight drop from the fall.

North Carolina ranked fifth in Leapfrog’s November report. Connecticut is now the safest state according to Leapfrog Group data. Utah dropped from No. 1 for five years to No. 4, and South Carolina ranked No. 3.

Here’s a closer look at Charlotte’s grades and what they mean.

How are grades calculated?

Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades are assigned twice a year, in the spring and fall. The Hospital Safety Grade program was established in 2012.

Grades are assigned using letters, with A as the best grade and F as the worst. The grades are assigned using data from various public sources, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

A Florida judge recently ordered Leapfrog to scrub poor patient safety grades for several Florida hospitals, The Miami Herald reported. The judge described the methodology as misleading, and “punitive” for healthcare systems that choose not to participate.

In a video explaining how to use the hospital safety grades, Leapfrog recommends using them to inform your decision when researching hospitals near you. Leapfrog offers a search tool on the homepage at hospitalsafetygrade.org. Hospitals are searchable by hospital name, city and state, just state or ZIP code. Here are North Carolina’s Leapfrog safety rankings in recent years:

• No. 1 in spring 2022
• No. 7 in fall 2022
• No. 6 in spring 2023
• No. 3 in fall 2023
• No. 8 in spring 2024
• No. 4 in fall 2024
• No. 12 in spring 2025
• No. 5 in fall 2025
• No. 8 in spring 2026

What makes a hospital safe?

Leapfrog evaluates hospital safety based on the prevention of medical errors, illnesses, injuries and infections.

The group uses up data on 32 safety measures to evaluate hospitals. If a hospital is missing too many pieces of data, the hospital is not graded. Leapfrog reports on five patient experience measures that directly impact patient safety:

• Nurse Communication
• Doctor Communication
• Staff Responsiveness
• Communication about Medicine
• Discharge Information

Report highlights “straight A” hospitals

Hospitals that received A grades for five or more grading rounds are designated “Straight A” hospitals.

Charlotte has three this round:

• Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center
• Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center
• Novant Health Rowan Medical Center

“Safety excellence is the result of disciplined, unified work carried out every day, with our teams aligned under one model for safety, quality and the patient experience,” Dr. David Priest, Novant Health’s senior vice president and chief safety and quality officer, said in a news release. “Our standardized processes, real-time data and practical tools help teams learn quickly, track progress and continuously improve, ultimately equipping them to strengthen the care we provide and drive strong outcomes for the patients we serve.”

In 2025, Atrium Health Union and Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center were “Straight A” hospitals. Both dropped to a B in 2026.

How safe are Charlotte hospitals?

The following Charlotte-area hospitals received A grades in Leapfrog’s spring report:

• Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center
• Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center
• Novant Health Rowan Medical Center
• Atrium Health Mercy
• Atrium Health Cabarrus
• Atrium Health Cleveland
• Atrium Health Kings Mountain
• Atrium Health Lincoln
• Carolinas Medical Center
• CaroMont Regional Medical Center
• MUSC Health - Lancaster Medical Center
• Novant Health Ballantyne Medical Center
• Novant Health Matthews Medical Center

These Charlotte area hospitals got a B:

• Atrium Health Pineville
• Atrium Health Stanly
• Atrium Health Union
• Atrium Health Union West
• Atrium Health University City
• Iredell Memorial Hospital
• Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center

One Charlotte-area hospital got a C:

• Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital

Piedmont Medical Center was not assigned a grade.

“Please be advised that Leapfrog is not assigning spring 2026 Safety Grades to hospitals that did not participate in the 2024 or 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Survey,” the grade website reads.

This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 10:13 AM.

Eva Flowe

The Charlotte Observer

Eva Flowe is a North Carolina native and a graduate of the University of South Carolina. She joined the Charlotte Observer as part of the NC service journalism team in April 2026.