Awards

Awards & Recognition

Just about everybody in Wooster and Wayne County, Ohio, knows that Wooster Community Hospital (WCH) Health System is the place for award-winning quality health care close to home.

But did you know WCH Health System also:

  • Is the largest nonprofit health service provider in our area
  • Receives NO TAX SUPPORT
  • Has absorbed $75 million of uncompensated care in the last 10 years, including charity care and unpaid medical bills
  • Has no debt
  • Has reinvested almost $186 million for direct patient care – $72 million in the last five years alone
  • Is an independent, locally governed health care institution that is bringing advanced medical services to patients closer to home
  • Delivers care to all people, regardless of their ability to pay
  • Has offered free transportation to those in need of hospital or physician services for over 20 years

The many honors Wooster Community Hospital has been awarded in recent years include:

 

WCH has been named one of Becker’s 100 Great Community Hospitals.

CHICAGO (July 2025) — Becker's Hospital Review is delighted to release the 2025 iteration of its “Great community hospitals” list.

These community hospitals stand out for delivering expert care, strengthening local economies and driving innovation, even with limited resources. Many have earned recognition from top rankings and ratings organizations for their exceptional clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and high performance in specialty services.

Each hospital on this list is deeply committed to uplifting its community while providing accessible, affordable care close to home.

Becker’s Healthcare is proud to celebrate the dedication and achievements of these hospitals, honoring their vital role in advancing healthcare where it’s needed most.

The Becker's Hospital Review editorial team accepted nominations and curated the list to highlight the great work of community hospitals across the nation.

The full list features individual profiles of all hospitals on the list, and can be read here.

Note: Becker's Healthcare developed this list based on nominations and editorial research. Organizations do not pay and cannot pay for inclusion on this list. This list is not exhaustive, nor is it an endorsement of the organizations mentioned. Organizations are presented in alphabetical order.

WCH is Nationally Recognized for its Commitment to Providing High-Quality Cardiovascular Care

Wooster, Ohio, 2024 — Wooster Community Hospital (WCH) has received the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines® and Mission: Lifeline® achievement awards for demonstrating commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease and stroke, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer readmissions to the hospital.

Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a stroke or heart attack, and heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death in the United States, respectively. Studies show patients can recover better when providers consistently follow treatment guidelines.

Get With The Guidelines and Mission: Lifeline put the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest evidence- and research-based guidelines. As a participant in Mission: Lifeline and Get With The Guidelines programs, WCH qualified for the awards by demonstrating how their organization has committed to improving quality care.

“WCH is committed to improving care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines and streamlining processes to ensure timely and proper care for heart attacks and strokes,” Amelia Welsh, Critical Care/Stroke Coordinator. “The Mission: Lifeline and Get With The Guidelines programs make it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which helps us ensure more people in Wayne, Holmes, and Ashland Counties experience longer, healthier lives.”

 

WCH Named One of the Nation's 100 Top Hospitals

Wooster Community Hospital demonstrated lower inpatient mortality rates, with fewer readmissions and complications.

WOOSTER, OH (April 17, 2024) ─ Wooster Community Hospital was identified as one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® according to an independent quality analysis provided by PINC AI™, the technology and services brand of Premier, Inc., and reported by Fortune.

To create the list, an objective, quantitative analysis of publicly available data was conducted to identify the top hospitals in the United States. The primary purpose of the PINC AI™ 100 Top Hospitals® program is to inspire hospital and health system leaders to pursue higher performance and deliver added value to patients and communities. The program leverages transparent, nonbiased data to help inform strategies for sustained performance. Organizations do not apply to participate in the study, and award recipients do not pay to market their honor.

“Years ago, our leadership team asked ourselves a challenging question when reviewing the list of the country’s 100 Top Hospitals. That question was “Why not us?” We quietly established this as a goal that we diligently worked to achieve, and it became a strategic imperative that drove a culture of excellence throughout the organization, said Bill Sheron, WCH CEO/President. “We always believed that we deserved to be on this list of outstanding hospitals - chosen by objective and unbiased data, and regardless of hospital size. Bigger doesn’t mean better, better outcomes mean you are better.”

“We were informed that we received this prestigious recognition again in 2024 – for the tenth time. Thousands of hospitals would be pleased to make this list even once, said Bill Sheron. “WCH has done it a remarkable ten times. We have a 5 Star Medicare rating and have also been listed in a national publication as one of the world’s best hospitals for several years running. This is an amazing accomplishment for our entire organization, and it reflects positively on our community. We thank our special employees, physicians, volunteers, and Board. This award provides affirmation of their commitment to quality care and a high level of patient satisfaction on a consistent basis over many years. We encourage everyone to pause and recognize what this award says about our organization, and the care we strive to deliver each and every day.”

100 Top Hospitals® Program Performance This year, based on comparisons between the study’s top performers and a peer group of similar hospitals, the analysis found that the top performers of the 100 Top Hospitals® program delivered better outcomes while operating more efficiently and at a lower cost. Compared to peer hospitals, this year’s top performers had:

  • 39 percent fewer inpatient deaths than peer hospitals.
  • 26.6 percent fewer patients with complications.
  • 30.6 percent fewer healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
  • A 21.1 percent lower inpatient expense per discharge.
  • 0.5-day shorter average length of stay.
  • Better reported patient experience scores, with a top-box Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare
  • Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) score of 73 percent versus 67 percent for peer hospitals.

“Hospitals and health systems continue to recognize the vital importance of performance improvement for high-quality patient care, proving value and enabling the innovations that drive healthcare forward,” said Leigh Anderson, Premier’s Chief Operating Officer and the leader of PINC AI™. “The transparent, non-biased and actionable data this study provides helps leaders make informed decisions for change and proves that Wooster Community Hospital excels across a range of core performance indicators, which can directly lead to significantly higher quality patient outcomes, with fewer readmissions and complications.”

Awarded ONE of the 100 Top Hospitals in the NATION

WCH was identified as one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® according to an independent quality analysis provided by PINC AI™ and reported by Fortune.

To create the list, an objective, quantitative analysis of publicly available data was conducted to identify the top hospitals in the United States. The primary purpose of the PINC AI™ 100 Top Hospitals® program is to inspire hospital and health system leaders to pursue higher performance and deliver added value to patients and communities. The program leverages transparent, nonbiased data to help inform strategies for sustained performance. Organizations do not apply to participate in the study, and award winners do not pay to market their honor.

“We are proud to again be selected as one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals. The information which follows underscores WHY this award should be impactful for patients and our community,” said Bill Sheron, WCH CEO/President. “We hope all patients utilize such information to make informed choices.”

Bill Sheron continues, “Having received this recognition now a total of nine times underscores our staff’s commitment to sustained excellence in patient care, satisfaction, and outcomes. Very few hospitals can match this level of achievement. This award means a great deal to us, and we thank everyone involved for making our hospital such a special place.”

Tara Raudebaugh, WCH’s VP of Quality Management, remarked “We are delighted to be on this distinguished list of 100 Top Hospitals!  The Board, executive leadership, staff, and providers are always striving to provide the very best care, and this validates the value we provide to the patients and community we serve. Being a repeat winner demonstrates our sustained improvement and achievement in quality, safety, outcomes, operations, and financial performance.”

 

WCH is Nationally Recognized for its Commitment to Providing High-Quality Stroke Care

Wooster, OH— {July 10, 2023} Wooster Community Hospital (WCH) Health System has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability, and accelerating recovery times.

“WCH is the only Certified Primary Stroke Center in Wayne, Holmes & Ashland counties.  We are especially proud of this certification, as it allows us to treat most stroke patients in our community, close to home. We’re committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines, Amelia Welsh, RN, CCRN, Critical Care/Stroke Coordinator. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure more people in Wayne and surrounding counties can experience longer, healthier lives.”

Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.

WCH also received the American Heart Association’s Target: StrokeSM Elite Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduces the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster Alteplase or Tenecteplase.

Additionally, WCH received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Honor Roll award. Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes may be at might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.

WCH, Cardiovascular Services Earns Echocardiography Reaccreditation by IAC

Wooster Community Hospital,  Cardiovascular Services located in Wooster, OH has been granted an additional three-year term of accreditation by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) in Echocardiography in the area(s) of Adult Transthoracic, Adult Transesophageal, Adult Stress. This latest accreditation awarded to Wooster Community Hospital,  Cardiovascular Services demonstrates the facility’s ongoing commitment to providing quality patient care in echocardiography.

Accreditation by IAC indicates that Wooster Community Hospital,  Cardiovascular Services has undergone an intensive application and review process and is found to be in compliance with the published Standards. Comprised of a detailed self-evaluation followed by a thorough review by a panel of medical experts, the IAC accreditation process enables both the critical operational and technical components of the applicant facility to be assessed, including representative case studies and their corresponding final reports.

WCH Vascular Laboratory, Cardiovascular Services Earns Vascular Testing Reaccreditation by IAC

Wooster Community Hospital Vascular Laboratory,  Cardiovascular Services located in Wooster, OH has been granted an additional three-year term of accreditation by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) in Vascular Testing in the area(s) of Extracranial Cerebrovascular Testing, Peripheral Venous Testing, Peripheral Arterial Testing. This latest accreditation awarded to Wooster Community Hospital Vascular Laboratory,  Cardiovascular Services demonstrates the facility’s ongoing commitment to providing quality patient care in vascular testing.

Accreditation by IAC indicates that Wooster Community Hospital Vascular Laboratory,  Cardiovascular Services has undergone an intensive application and review process and is found to be in compliance with the published Standards. Comprised of a detailed self-evaluation followed by a thorough review by a panel of medical experts, the IAC accreditation process enables both the critical operational and technical components of the applicant facility to be assessed, including representative case studies and their corresponding final reports.

WCH Named Recipient of Huron's 2022 Excellence in Healthcare Award

Wooster, OH — Wooster Community Hospital Health System announced it has received the 2022 Excellence in Healthcare Award from Huron, a global professional services firm, at its 20th annual What’s Right in Health Care® conference on August 8-10, 2022. WCH is being recognized for delivering exceptional outcomes or driving innovations which positively impacts its people, consumers, or business operations.

“We congratulate WCH on this well-deserved achievement,” said Debbie Ritchie or Curt Whelan, managing director at Huron. “This recognition is a testament to the innovation and resilience of their teams enabling them to achieve performance excellence throughout the past year.”

Huron’s Excellence in Healthcare Awards are presented annually to a select group of organizations which demonstrate What’s Right in Health Care® and deliver exceptional outcomes to patients or drive innovations. Honorees participated in a panel discussion during the conference. To be eligible for an award, an organization must demonstrate outstanding performance and achievement in areas such as patient care, and employee and physician engagement.

The What’s Right in Health Care® conference is for healthcare leaders eager to think critically about bringing more innovation to their organization, prioritizing a high-performing and engaged workforce. Over the two-and-a-half days, attendees have the opportunity to connect with peers and find inspiration in their path to organizational improvement and become an ambassador for cultural growth, positive clinical and operational outcomes, and advanced leadership skills. Conference attendees joined in-person and virtually to hear inspiring stories and best practices from other high-performing healthcare leaders and staff across the care continuum.

 

Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award

Wooster Community Hospital Primary Stroke Center has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Quality Achievement Award Gold Plus for our commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.  Learn more @ https://www.heart.org

100 Top Hospital by Fortune/Merative

Wooster Community Hospital Health System has been named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals by Fortune/Merative in 2022. This award, formerly known as IBM Watson 100 Top Hospitals, recognizes top-performing hospitals in the U.S. based on publicly available clinical, operational, and patient satisfaction data. Hospitals must improve upon prior scores and performance to earn a place on this prestigious list more than once. WCH has earned this unsolicited award eight times.

2021 IBCLC Care Award

This award is an international award from ILCA (the International Lactation Consultant Association) and IBLCE (International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, The IBLCE exam is the premier, internationally recognized measure of knowledge in lactation consulting and ILCA is the independent professional association for health care professionals who care for breastfeeding families.

This global award requires facilities to not only hire and utilize IBCLC's but also have a dedicated lactation program, complete an evidence-based project that protects, promotes, and supports breastfeeding and the IBCLC credential, and produce proper documentation for said project. It also requires the achievement and documentation of a specific breastfeeding training program for health professional staff who care for new families which is separate from the said IBCLC project.

Last round, the United States produced only 149 hospitals to receive this recognition and of those 149 Ohio had ten the majority were large health systems. We are extremely proud to be able to enhance Wooster Community Hospital's portfolio of Award-winning quality health care close to home.

Commission on Cancer - Accredited Program

Wooster Community Hospital received this designation for our commitment to improving survival and quality of life for our cancer patients.

DNV Quality Management System Award ISO 9001

ISO 9001 is the most widely-accepted quality management system in use around the world, and is quickly gaining acceptance among US healthcare providers as a foundation for their quality and patient safety programs. ISO 9001 brings science to the art of caregiving; it helps to standardize processes around things that are proven to work, by the people doing the work, thus empowering frontline workers while creating an environment of predictability for the entire organization. The ultimate impact of ISO 9001 within hospitals is the reduction or elimination of variation, so that critical work processes are done consistently and the “best ideas” aren’t held by one person or one department, but are ingrained in the organization itself.

Accredited Chest Pain Center

Hospitals that have earned the distinction of being an accredited chest pain center by the American College of Cardiology have proven exceptional competency in treating patients with heart attack symptoms. These hospitals also have primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) – also known as coronary angioplasty – available 24/7 every day of the year.

Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

Wooster Community Hospital has been awarded an ‘A’ in the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Wooster Community Hospital’s achievements in providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is a nationally respected non-profit organization – founded more than 20 years ago by large employers and purchasers – whose goal is to improve the safety and quality of American healthcare. They analyze 28 hospital performance measures, across six domains, to develop their rankings.  These include inpatient care, inpatient surgeries, infection rates, medication safety, and pediatric and maternity care.  Their overriding concern has always been patient safety.

Best Nursing Homes

Awarded to long-term nursing facilities that provide outstanding patient care to their residents, this honor was presented to Wooster Community Hospital for our Skilled Nursing - Transitional Care Unit in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, & 2021 by U.S. News & World Report. WCH is recognized as among the top 10 percent of nursing facilities nationally to receive this award.

CMS 5-Star Rating

Wooster Community Hospital (WCH) has earned a five-star rating under the Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings for 2021 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). WCH is one of 407 U.S. hospitals to receive a five-star rating, out of 4,500 nationwide. CMS assigns star ratings of one, two, three, four, or five stars to U.S. hospitals. Ratings are based on a hospital’s performance across seven areas of quality. This validates our hospital’s commitment to clinical excellence.

Newsweek's World's Best Hospitals 2020 & 2021

Wooster Community Hospital (WCH) was recognized as part of Newsweek’s annual list of World’s Best Hospitals for 2020 & 2021. This prestigious award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The award was based on a complex methodology to ensure the quality and validity of the ranking. Three data sources were used for the evaluation: hospital recommendations from peers, patient experience, and various medical key performance indicators.

America's 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience

The America’s Best Hospitals award demonstrates exceptional ratings in providing the highest level of care and commitment to their patients’ health and well-being. This Women's Choice Award takes into consideration the preferences of women when they select a hospital. Wooster Community Hospital received this honor for five years and is one of only 13 hospitals in Ohio and one of 100 in the nation to receive this award.

CareChex Quality Award

This award recognizes the quality of patient care, outcomes, and patient experience at hospitals. In 2017 and 2018, Wooster Community Hospital was recognized as being among the top 10 percent of health care facilities nationally for its cardiac care, heart attack treatment, and neurological and pulmonary care programs. The WCH stroke care program was recognized as being among the top 10 percent in the region.

Becker's Hospital Review

This award recognizes the top 100 Great Community Hospitals in the nation for workplace excellence, a commitment to professional development, diversity and inclusion, work-life balance, and a sense of community among employees. WCH has received this honor for five years.

Community Value

Wooster Community Hospital was named a Community Value Top 100 Hospital for 2018 by Cleverley & Associates, based on its value to the community, financial viability, low costs, and high-quality patient care. WCH is one of just five Ohio hospitals recognized as a Top 100 Hospital – and the only one listed in the small, non teaching category. It is the second time WCH has received this particular community value award.

Wooster Community Hospital also received a Community Value 5-Star designation from Cleverley & Associates in 2018 – the 13th consecutive year that WCH has received the designation. The 5-Star award is presented to hospitals in the top quintile for providing value to their community. Financial viability and reinvestment, cost structure, charge structure, and quality performance are key performance indicators taken into account.

For more information about the various honors and awards bestowed upon Wooster Community Hospital, call us at (330) 263-8144.