TOP 10: Best Hospitals for Diabetes Care in the United States

Diabetes remains the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with over a million new incident cases being reported each year, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Over 29.1 million people (9.3 percent) of the U.S. population currently has diabetes, reports the Centers for Disease Control, and it is an epidemic that seems to be growing.

Not only is diabetes detrimental to one’s health, but it is also a costly disease to treat. The total estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes in 2012 was $245 billion, according to the ADA, including $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity.

When it comes to treating diabetes, the following hospitals perform the best, house top nursing staffs, deliver quality care and use the most advanced technology. 

10. University of Washington Medical Center (Seattle, WA)

The Endocrinology/Diabetes Clinic at Harborview provides care to patients for the evaluation, management and education of patients with diabetes type 1 and diabetes type 2, endocrine diseases (thyroid, adrenal, pituitary, lipid and gonads), hypercholestremia, hyperlipidemia and obesity.

Additionally, a Diabetes Care Center provides care for patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes; pre- and post-transplant diabetes; and pancreatic diabetes through nutritional counseling, clinical pharmacy, psychiatry and comprehensive classes in diabetes management and devices.

9. UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles, CA)

The Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension at UCLA provides services for a full range of endocrine problems. The UCLA Diabetes Program provides both primary and consultative diabetes care to referred patients.

In addition to care, the center incorporates key clinical research to investigate the pathophysiology, prevention and cure of diabetes and its complications.  

8. Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago, IL)

As one of the country’s premier academic medical center hospitals, Northwestern Memorial Hospital serves as the primary teaching hospital for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The university’s faculty members’ areas of focus range from molecular endocrinology to metabolic disorders to endocrine genetics.

When it comes to diabetes and obesity, leading experts at Northwestern have embarked on a campaign to create a cross-disciplinary diabetes center to continue research, education and clinical care.

7. Yale-New Haven Hospital (New Haven, CT)

At Yale-New Haven Hospital, the Diabetes Center was founded in 1994 to serve as a regional resource for diabetes diagnosis, education and treatment. The center offers diabetes care in both outpatient and inpatient settings, and as an American Diabetes Association (ADA)-recognized site for diabetes education, the Diabetes Center offers free educational diabetes programs for patients and their families. 

The multidisciplinary team guides each patient through diabetes management using the latest technologies available. Yale-New Haven Hospital also offers patients on-site A1c testing.

6. New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Weill Cornell (New York, NY)

The Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at New York-Presbyterian takes an active role in using innovative treatments and educating the public on how to prevent the lifelong disease. A diabetes center, now in its seventh year of service, offers a multidisciplinary team approach, with a comprehensive case management and development of individualized treatment plans.

The team is composed of diabetologists, a certified diabetes educator, a registered dietician, and a podiatrist.

5. UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco, CA)

The diabetes clinics at Parnassus and Mount Zion provide specialty care in treating diabetes mellitus. They are part of the UCSF Diabetes Center which is one of only 11 Diabetes Endocrinology Research Centers in the country, named by the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases. As part of the national designation, the centers receive federal funding for diabetes research.

The Diabetes Treatment Center at UCSF Medical Center provides instruction and information about diabetes management, emphasizing the importance of individualized care and patient empowerment by teaching people how to best manage their condition.

4. Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore, MD)

Johns Hopkins Hospital is a leader in serving people with diabetes. The Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Diabetes Center offers diagnosis, assessment, education, management, and multidisciplinary care. By integrating diet, oral medication or insulin, and patient education, the Diabetes Center works to achieve the best possible outcomes, helping people with diabetes to live long and healthy lives.

The recent Johns Hopkins Diabetes Initiative will advance the care and treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus by coordinating and improving patient care, research and training at Johns Hopkins through the creation of the Johns Hopkins Diabetes Institute. Over the course of a five-year period, the Diabetes Institute will work to improve collaboration, philanthropy and faculty surrounding the treatment of diabetes mellitus at Johns Hopkins.

3. Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, MA)

The Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Clinical Center is one of the oldest outpatient centers in the country dedicated to the comprehensive treatment of persons with diabetes, pre-diabetes, and associated disorders. With a closely integrated treatment center and clinical research center, the center’s ultimate goal is to cure diabetes.

Massachusetts General Hospital also offers diabetes eye screening programs. Chelsea HealthCare Center and Revere HealthCare Center allow patients with diabetes to have their eyes screened at the same place they receive their primary care.

2. Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH)

Cleveland Clinic’s Diabetes Center provides patients access to a multidisciplinary team, including endocrinologists, diabetic educators, dieticians and a nurse practitioner. The goal of the Diabetes Center is to encourage patients to receive early specialty care and education – getting them on the right track with their diabetes management before returning them to their primary care physicians for ongoing management.

The Diabetes Center offers both individual and group diabetes education classes year round for patients and their families. Another convenience offered is retinal eye screenings on-site to provide screening for diabetic eye conditions.

1. Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN)

Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by a philosophy of “the needs of the patient come first.”

The Mayo Clinic offers a structured, three-day outpatient class for intensive insulin therapy called the “Diabetes Unit.” Intensive insulin therapy is a mode of treatment in which the primary goal is to keep blood sugars as near normal as possible. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial showed that tight blood sugar control prevents or slows the progressive complication of diabetes that affect the eyes, kidneys, and nerves.

Additionally, the Mayo Clinic offers a comprehensive diabetes self-management education program for nearly 4,000 patients and their families each year. The program is a combined outpatient and inpatient treatment and education program.

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Editor’s Note: To develop this list, Healthcare Global's editorial team conducted research and evaluated reputable hospital ranking sources, such as U.S. News & World Report and Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.