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:

Wooster Community Hospital Health System 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: Stroke^SM 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 20^th 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.

WCH Receives CMS 5 Star Quality Rating

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

 

 

Awarded one of the 100 Top Hospitals in the nation

 

Wooster Community Hospital Health System has been named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals. This award 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.