Through the Gage Awards, America’s Essential Hospitals recognizes member hospitals and health systems for successful projects to improve the quality of care and population health. The awards promote the spread of best practices and innovative programs to other organizations and support the association’s research, policy, and advocacy work by sharing member success stories with external audiences.
Applications for the 2027 Gage Awards Are Open
Application Open: June 22, 2026
Application Deadline: Aug. 24, 2026
Notification of Awards: Early December 2026
Gage Award in Population Health
Recognizes successful programs aimed at improving health outcomes for a defined population or community social and economic factors that influence health. This includes health care providers working with other sectors in both complementary and collaborative ways to improve health, as part of a connected system that meets the physical, mental, and social needs of individuals and improves the structures and conditions that influence these needs.
Gage Award in Quality Improvement
Recognizes data-driven programs that continuously and systematically work to achieve a measurable improvement in the efficiency, effectiveness, performance, accountability, and outcomes of quality in services or processes to improve the health of the community. This includes improving care delivery and patient experience, engaging patients and their families, reducing staff burnout, and/or preventing or mitigating harmful events that affect individual patients, groups of patients, or the community.
Gage Award in Operational Excellence
Recognizes health care organizations implementing transformative programs that underscore the direct link between organizational transformation and improved clinical outcomes. These programs drive innovations that elevate patient care and health outcomes. These exemplary programs have transformed organizational processes and practices to improve operational efficiency, enhance workforce engagement, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. This can include streamlining workflows, optimizing resource allocation, and implementing best practices across the organization, resulting in measurable improvements in service delivery, patient care, and overall organizational performance.
2026 Gage Awards: Population Health
Gage Awards for population health recognize programs that aim to improve specific health outcomes for a defined population or community by addressing the social and economic factors that influence health. Population health can be defined as “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group” (Kindig & Stoddart, 2003).
Winner
SBH Health
SBH Health and Wellness Center
2026 Gage Awards: Quality
Gage Awards for quality recognize activities that improve the quality of care delivered, improve patient experience, engage patients and their families, or reduce or eliminate harmful events affecting individual patients or groups of patients. Quality improvement programs may include evidence-based interventions, standardized practices, bundles of care, and checklists.
Winner
Denver Health
OB Perinatal Addiction Recovery Program (OB PEAR)
2026 Gage Awards: Operational excellence
Gage Awards for operational excellence honor programs that transform health care operations to improve efficiency, workforce engagement, and service delivery. These initiatives streamline workflows, optimize resources, and implement best practices to enhance patient care and overall performance.
Winner
UK Healthcare
From Crisis to Care: EmPATH in Action
2026 Gage Awards: Honorable Mentions
The 2026 Gage Award honorable mentions were featured in a new episode of our “Safety Net Pulse” podcast. Hear program leaders discuss their work:
Population Health
Tucson Medical Center – Hearts Close to Home
Quality
Hennepin Healthcare – RISE – Improving Health by Caring for Physician Trainees
Operational Excellence
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue – Using a Multidisciplinary Inpatient “Lean” Team to Reduce ED Boarding
Excellence and Innovation in Care: The 2026 Gage Awards
America’s Essential Hospitals proudly presents Excellence and Innovation in Care: The 2026 Gage Awards, an illustrated guide to award-winning and highlighted programs in the Gage Awards’ Quality Improvement, Population Health, and Operational Excellence categories.
This guide documents the exceptional work by essential hospitals to improve the health and well-being of the people and communities they serve, including programs that improve substance use disorder care for pregnant and postpartum patients; provide housing, nutrition, fitness, and ambulatory care services at a wellness center; and transform emergency services for individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
Explore these and other innovative programs in the report.