About UK HealthCare
UK HealthCare, the University’s advanced academic medical center and clinical care network, is uniquely equipped to provide advanced subspecialty care to the people of Kentucky. UK HealthCare Hospital System operates three seperatley liscensed hospital units under one Joint Commission Accreditation in addition to ambulatory services. The major service units include Royal Blue Heath, Claire Blue Health and Albert B. Chandler Hospital which includes Good Samaritan Hospital and the Golisano at Children’s UK.
For more information on UK HealthCare, click
here.
For UK HealthCare’s 2025 Strategic Plan, click
here.
Awards and Recognitions
UK HealthCare has grown dramatically over the past decade to meet the health needs of the Commonwealth. UK HealthCare offers many clinical and support services and has been recognized numerous times for top-quality care. Below is a list of UK HealthCare’s recent recognitions.
UK HealthCare’s performance in the 2026-27 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospital rankings:
- University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center was the no. 1 ranked cancer center in Kentucky.
- The Joint Pediatric and Congenital Heart Program, a collaboration between UK Golisano Children’s and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, ranked no. 14 in the country in pediatric cardiologoy and heart surgery.
- UK Golisano Children’s also ranked in the top 50 nationally in pediatric orthopedics, which is a joint program with Shriners Children’s Lexington.
- Golisano Children’s at UK was named the no. 2 Best Children’s Hospital in Kentucky.
- Additionally, three adult specialities at UK HealthCare and 12 common adult procedures and conditions received a high-performing designation.
Operations
UK HealthCare Hospital System’s operating information for the five most recent fiscal years is summarized as follows:
About UK’s Research
Grant and contract awards to the University of Kentucky (UK) totaled $502.5 million for FY26.
Federal agencies awarded UK $290.9M, 57.9% of UK’s total awards.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants totaled $158.6 million
- National Science Foundation (NSF) grants totaled $37.3 million
State agencies awarded UK $126.7 million and Industry awarded UK $18.7 million.
Based on FY24 research expenditures totaling $527.7 million, UK ranks:
- 67th among 681 public and private universities
- 45th among 422 public institutions
These rankings were released in December 2025. The National Science Foundation (NSF), through the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), publishes the Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey each year ranking the top universities according to what they spend on research. The HERD survey is considered to be the primary source of information on R&D expenditures within academia.
For more information on UK’s research, click
here.
Grant and Contract Awards
