Universal Health Services
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Healthcare |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | Alan B. Miller |
| Headquarters | King of Prussia , United States |
Area served | United States, United Kingdom |
Key people | Alan B. Miller (Executive Chairman), Marc D. Miller (CEO) |
| Products | Hospital operations, healthcare services, behavioral health, addiction treatment |
| Website | www |
Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) is a prominent American company listed among the Fortune 300, focusing on hospital operations and healthcare services, with its headquarters located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. In 2024, UHS reported total revenues amounting to $15.8 billion.
Company history
Established in 1979 by Alan B. Miller, who continues to serve as Executive Chairman, UHS rapidly grew to control four hospitals and oversee two additional facilities within its first eighteen months. That same year, the company expanded into the Las Vegas market through its purchase of Valley Hospital.
UHS launched its initial public offering in 1981 and pursued key acquisitions early on, including five hospitals from the Stewards Foundation in 1982 and Qualicare, Inc. in 1983 for more than $116 million, which added eleven acute care hospitals and four behavioral health facilities to its portfolio. In 1986, UHS created Universal Health Realty Income Trust, recognized as the first real estate investment trust (REIT) within the healthcare sector. By 1991, UHS transitioned its stock listing from NASDAQ to the New York Stock Exchange.
The company’s expansion has been propelled by strategic acquisitions such as Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. for $3.1 billion in 2010; Ascend Health Corporation for $517 million in 2012; Palo Verde Behavioral Health and Psychiatric Institute of Washington in 2014; Cygnet Health Care Limited for roughly $335 million in 2014; Alpha Hospitals Holdings Limited for $148 million in 2015; Foundations Recovery Network for $350 million in 2015; Desert View Hospital in 2016; Cambian Group PLC's Adult Services Division in 2016; and Danshell Group in 2018. These transactions broadened UHS’s international footprint and diversified its services across acute care, behavioral health, and addiction treatment.
In September 2020, UHS encountered a network disruption caused by an IT security incident. During that month, following its planned leadership transition, Alan B. Miller stepped down as CEO while President Marc D. Miller assumed the role.
From 2021 through 2025, UHS has maintained a position on the Fortune 500 list and has been consistently recognized on Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies list since 2020, underscoring its reputation and influence within the healthcare industry.
Hospital licenses
In June 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued warnings threatening to decertify Rancho Springs Medical Center (Murrieta, California) and Inland Valley Regional Medical Center (Wildomar, California), with the State of California also cautioning about potential license revocation. Universal Health Services responded by implementing corrective actions, resulting in both hospitals successfully passing CMS Certification Surveys by November 2011. Consequently, CMS withdrew its termination notice and the California Department of Public Health retracted its license revocation threat.
Allegations of noncompliance with same-sex visitation law
In 2012, a petition was filed claiming that Spring Valley Hospital, managed by UHS, required same-sex partners to provide power of attorney before making medical decisions—a practice potentially violating Department of Health and Human Services regulations which permit such decisions without power of attorney.
Fraudulent Medicaid claims
In September 2012, Universal Health Services (UHS) and its subsidiaries Keystone Education and Youth Services LLC along with Keystone Marion LLC agreed to pay more than $6.9 million to settle accusations of submitting fraudulent Medicaid claims connected to inadequate psychiatric care provided to adolescents. Authorities claimed the juvenile detention center was misrepresented as a residential treatment facility that lacked appropriate psychiatric supervision, and that treatment plans were falsified.
On July 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $122 million settlement involving UHS entities and Turning Point Care Center in Georgia for violations under the False Claims Act. The allegations encompassed billing for inpatient behavioral health services that were not medically necessary, delivering substandard care, offering unlawful inducements, improper discharge procedures, unnecessarily prolonged stays, insufficient staffing and training, misuse of physical restraints, failure to update treatment plans, inadequate discharge preparation, and neglecting to provide mandated therapies. Of the $117 million paid by UHS, $88.1 million was allocated to the federal government while $28.9 million was returned to states supporting Medicaid programs.
BuzzFeed investigation
On December 7, 2016, BuzzFeed released an investigative report accusing UHS psychiatric facilities of questionable practices such as detaining non-threatening patients against their will, distorting patient testimonies to justify involuntary confinement, aggressive staff reductions, understaffing, patient fatalities due to medication errors, and violations concerning improper discharge procedures. UHS refuted these claims. Following the publication, UHS stock experienced an approximate 12% decline.
In response, UHS engaged a global crisis management public relations firm, terminated an employee suspected of communicating with reporters, initiated legal action against a former worker over leaked internal videos, threatened lawsuits against others involved, organized town hall meetings aimed at discouraging staff from speaking with media outlets, conducted thorough staff interviews, issued a public apology endorsed by some employees, retained a leading law firm, and developed professionally produced websites to mitigate reputational harm.
Cygnet Healthcare
The UK-based subsidiary Cygnet Health Care manages 140 mental health service locations across the United Kingdom, with 85% receiving ratings of good or outstanding from regulatory bodies. Nonetheless, a BBC investigation uncovered instances of staff provoking and taunting vulnerable patients. After concerns arose at Cygnet Acer clinic—including incidents of patient self-harm, ligature hazards, and inadequately trained personnel—new patient admissions were suspended following a Care Quality Commission assessment deeming the facility unsafe.
In 2018, Cygnet expanded by acquiring four inpatient units formerly operated by the Danshell Group. By 2019, all four units had been condemned by the Care Quality Commission due to unexplained injuries among patients and excessive use of restraints.
Laurel Oaks Behavioral Health Center
On February 8, 2024, a lawsuit was filed against Universal Health Services’ Laurel Oaks Behavioral Health Center in Dothan, Alabama and its CEO Janette Jackson. The suit alleges mishandling of several incidents involving the assault of an eight-year-old resident during 2022. It claims the center failed to safeguard the child from attacks by a larger roommate while under their care. Universal Health Services is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Prior incidents at Laurel Oaks include a 2011 conviction of an employee for sexually assaulting a teenage patient and a 2014 felony charge against a 17-year-old patient for first-degree sodomy.
Further Claims
On May 16, 2021, the Detroit Free Press disclosed that St. Simons By The Sea (previously known as Focus By The Sea), a subsidiary of Universal Health Services located on St. Simons Island, Georgia, was engaging in patient recruitment from a nearby soup kitchen. This facility obtains physician services through a contract with Southland MD based in Thomasville, Georgia.
Hospitals and Medical Centers
By June 2024, UHS manages a wide array of medical and acute care institutions throughout the United States, reinforcing its expansion and presence in the healthcare market.
California
- Corona
- Southwest Healthcare Corona Regional Medical Center
- Murrieta
- A Plus Urgent Care
- Southwest Healthcare Rancho Springs Hospital
- Temecula Valley Day Surgery
- Palmdale
- Southwest Healthcare Palmdale Regional Medical Center
- Riverside
- Riverside Medical Clinic Surgery Center
- Temecula
- Southwest Healthcare Temecula Valley Hospital
- Wildomar
- Southwest Healthcare Inland Valley Hospital
District of Columbia
- Washington
- The George Washington University Hospital
Florida
- Arcadia
- Manatee Diagnostic Center (Arcadia)
- Bradenton
- ER at Bayshore Gardens
- ER at Sun City Center
- ER at Palma Sola
- Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
- Lakewood Ranch Medical Group
- Manatee Diagnostic Center (Pointe West)
- Manatee Diagnostic Center (Riverside)
- Manatee Health
- Manatee Memorial Hospital
- Manatee Physician Alliance
- Orlando
- University Behavioral Center
- Parrish
- Manatee Diagnostic Center (Parrish)
- Royal Palm Beach
- Palms Westside Clinic ASC
- Sarasota
- ER at Fruitville
- Wellington
- Wellington Physicians Alliance
- West Palm Beach
- Wellington Regional Medical Center
- Westlake
- ER at Westlake
Nevada
- Henderson
- ER at Green Valley Ranch
- Henderson Hospital
- Las Vegas
- Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center
- Elite Medical Center
- ER at Blue Diamond
- ER at Desert Springs
- ER at West Craig Road
- Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center
- Summerlin Hospital Medical Center
- Valley Health Physician Alliance
- Valley Health Specialty Hospital
- Valley Hospital Medical Center
- North Las Vegas
- ER at North Las Vegas
- ER at Valley Vista
- Pahrump
- Desert View Hospital
- Reno
- ER at Damonte Ranch
- ER at McCarran NW
- Northern Nevada Sierra Medical Center
- Quail Surgical and Pain Management Center
- Sparks
- ER at Spanish Springs
- Northern Nevada Medical Center
Oklahoma
- Enid
- St. Mary's Physician Associates
- St. Mary's Regional Medical Center
Pennsylvania
- King of Prussia
- Eastern Pennsylvania Physician Alliance
- UHS Corporate Headquarters
South Carolina
- Aiken
- Aiken Physicians Alliance
- Aiken Regional Medical Centers
- Cancer Care Institute of Carolina
- The Surgery Center of Aiken
- North Augusta
- ER at Sweetwater
Texas
- Alamo
- South Texas Health System ER Alamo
- Amarillo
- Northwest Emergency at Town Square
- Northwest Emergency on Georgia
- Northwest Physicians Group
- Northwest Texas Healthcare System
- Anna
- ER at Anna
- Bonham
- TMC Bonham Hospital
- Denison
- Texoma Medical Center
- TexomaCare
- Eagle Pass
- Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center
- Edinburg
- Cornerstone Regional Hospital
- South Texas Health System Edinburg and Children's
- South Texas Health System ER McColl and Monte Cristo
- Laredo
- Doctors Hospital Emergency Rooms Saunders and South
- Doctors Hospital of Laredo
- Laredo Physicians Group
- McAllen
- South Texas Health System Clinics and Heart Center
- South Texas Health System ER Ware Road and McAllen facilities
- Mission
- South Texas Health System ER Mission
- Sherman
- ER at Sherman
- Weslaco
- South Texas Health System ER Weslaco
Behavioral health facilities
UHS manages more than 300 behavioral health centers throughout the United States and the United Kingdom, including the following:
- Cygnet Health Care, UK
- Psychiatric Institute of Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Suncoast Behavioral Health Center, Bradenton, Florida
- Fuller Hospital, South Attleboro, Massachusetts
- Willow Springs Center, Reno, Nevada
- Friends Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Provo Canyon School, Provo, Utah