NEWSWEEK Global ranking highlights Southlake’s people, innovation, and commitment to delivering leading edge care, close to home.
For the eighth consecutive year, Southlake Health has been recognized by Newsweek as one of the World’s Best Hospitals, a distinction that underscores its role as a leader in Canadian healthcare and a top performer globally. While major academic centres are often seen as the destination for complex care, Southlake continues to prove that advanced, high-quality treatment can be delivered closer to home. This year, Southlake has also been recognized as one of the top three community hospitals in Ontario for the fifth year in a row.
“Eight consecutive years of global recognition speaks to the sustained excellence of our people and their dedication to our communities,” said Paul Woods, MD, President and CEO, Southlake Health. “We’re excited to build on this legacy and bring care even closer to home as Southlake transforms into a Distributed Health Network over the next decade.”
Over the past eight years, the hospital has taken significant steps to ensure patients continue to have access to advanced care. Southlake has recruited top international physicians and continues to train the next generation of healthcare workers. It has opened new clinics and units and formed first-of-their-kind partnerships with other top hospitals. Meanwhile, its teams continue to innovate by bringing robotic knee surgery to York Region, investing in Canada’s first Elekta Harmony Linear Accelerator for cancer treatment, and achieving major healthcare milestones in Canada, North America, and the world.
Southlake’s Strategy for the Decade Ahead will build on these achievements as the hospital transforms into a Distributed Health Network, bringing leading edge care even closer to home. Patients across all Southlake sites – from the hospital on Davis Drive to off-site clinics and units – benefit from the same standard of care that has earned the organization global recognition.
“This recognition reflects the dedication of our clinical and non-clinical teams,” said Charmaine van Schaik, MD, Chief of Staff. “Across every discipline and every role, our teams are committed to providing high-quality, patient-centred care. I am incredibly proud of what they have accomplished.”
Southlake’s recognition extends beyond clinical performance. It was recently named one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures and one of GTA’s Top Employers, reinforcing the connection between a strong workplace culture and exceptional patient care.
Powered by Statista, a global data firm, The World’s Best Hospitals ranking by Newsweek was developed with input from a global board of renowned medical experts supporting the continuous development of the ranking’s methodology. Four data sources were used to evaluate the best medical institutions in 30 countries:
- Recommendations from medical experts: an international online survey of more than 80,000 healthcare professionals.
- Patient experience: publicly available data from existing patient surveys was used to analyze patient experience.
- Patient reported outcome measures: standardized, validated questionnaires completed by patients to measure their perception of their functional well-being and quality of life.
- Hospital quality metrics: quality of care measures for specific treatments, and indicators such as hygiene measures and patient safety.
Additional Resources
- Newsweek World’s Best Hospitals
- Information on the 2025, 2024 and 2023 recognitions
