wifi_off What is the Offline Map Feature?
The Hospital Data Center map uses OpenStreetMap tiles with an advanced offline caching system powered by Leaflet Offline. When you save a map area, all the map tiles (the visual pieces that make up the map) are stored directly in your browser's local storage — so you can browse hospitals on the map even without an internet connection.
Hospital data (names, locations, quality scores) is also cached locally the first time you load the map, enabling full offline search and filtering functionality.
info The map loads all US hospitals as color-coded cluster pins. Numbers on clusters indicate how many hospitals are grouped in that area — zoom in to expand them.
cloud_download How to Download a Map Area for Offline Use
Follow these simple steps to save a region of the map so you can use it without internet access:
1
Open the Hospital Map
Navigate to the Map page from the main navigation menu.
2
Pan & Zoom to Your Area
Use your mouse or touch to navigate to the region you want to save (e.g., a city or county).
3
Click the ☁️ Download Button
Find the cloud icon (☁️) on the right side of the map controls. Click it to start downloading all map tiles for the visible area.
4
Confirm the Download
A dialog will appear showing how many tiles will be saved. Tap "Download" to confirm. A progress notification appears at the bottom-right.
5
Wait for Completion
The download bar will show the percentage. When done, you'll see a success notification: "Map successfully saved to your device!"
6
Access Saved Areas Anytime
The orange "Saved Areas" button appears in the toolbar. Click it to see all your saved regions and fly back to them instantly.
info After zooming into your target area, click the ☁️ cloud icon (highlighted by the green arrow) on the left-side map controls to start the offline download.
cloud_done Managing Your Saved Offline Areas
Once a map area has been downloaded, the orange "Saved Areas" button appears in the top toolbar. Clicking it opens a dialog listing every saved region with its name and the date it was saved.
- Tap any saved area entry to fly the map back to that location instantly.
- Each entry shows the zoom level used when the area was saved (e.g., "Saved Area – Zoom 18").
- Use the 🗑️ trash icon on the map to clear all saved areas if you need to free up storage.
info The Saved Offline Maps panel (orange button, top-right of toolbar) lists all your downloaded areas. Click any row to instantly fly to that region — even without internet.
place Understanding Map Pin Colors
Each hospital pin on the map is color-coded based on its Quality Score (0–100), a composite metric derived from CMS ratings:
Green — Excellent — Quality Score ≥ 75
Yellow — Good — Quality Score 50–74
Orange — Fair — Quality Score 25–49
Red — Poor — Quality Score < 25
Gray — No Data — Quality Score unavailable
my_location Using "Near Me" to Find Nearby Hospitals
Click the "Near Me" button in the toolbar to allow the map to access your location. The map will:
- Fly to your current GPS location on the map
- Place a blue pulsing dot to mark your position
- Show a Nearest Hospitals panel listing the 10 closest hospitals, sorted by distance (miles)
- Each result is clickable and takes you to that hospital's detail page
filter_list Using Filters
The toolbar at the top of the map provides three filters:
searchHospital Name Search
Type part of a hospital name and press Enter or click Search.
flagState Filter
Narrow pins down to a specific US state.
local_hospitalHospital Type Filter
Filter by Acute Care, Critical Access, Psychiatric, Children's, VA, DoD, Long-term, or Rural Emergency.
help_outline Frequently Asked Questions
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How much storage space does an offline area use?
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It depends on the zoom levels and geographic size of the area. A typical city area at zoom levels 10–15 uses between 5–30 MB of browser storage. The map downloads zoom levels 10 through 15 by default.
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Can I save multiple areas?
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Yes! You can download as many areas as your browser storage allows. Each saved area appears in the "Saved Areas" list with the date it was saved. Tap any entry to fly back to that location.
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What happens if I clear my browser data?
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Clearing browser data (cookies, cache, localStorage) will erase all saved offline map areas and cached hospital data. You will need to re-download areas when you are back online.
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Does the "Near Me" feature work offline?
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GPS location detection works offline (it uses your device's hardware, not the internet). The map will show your position and the nearest hospitals from the cached data. However, the map tiles must have been previously downloaded for that area to be visible.
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How do I delete all saved offline map data?
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Click the 🗑️ trash icon next to the ☁️ download button on the map. A confirmation dialog will appear. Confirm to clear all downloaded map tiles from your device.
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Why do some pins have a red ring around them?
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A red ring around a pin indicates that the hospital has a 24/7 Emergency department. This makes emergency facilities easy to identify at a glance, especially when you are in urgent need.
