United Hospital Center (UHC) has been named to the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list in the teaching hospital category.
This is the third time that UHC has been recognized with this honor as one of the top performing teaching hospitals in the United States. It is also the second consecutive year that UHC has been named a 100 Top Hospital. The annual list was published by Fortune.
IBM Watson Health® has identified the top hospitals from a rigorous evaluation of 2,675 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals in the United States. The annual list recognizes excellence in clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience, and financial health. IBM Watson Health established the list to help identify best practices that may help other healthcare organizations achieve consistent, balanced, and sustainable high performance.
This year’s ranking of top hospitals also introduces a measure of hospitals’ contributions to community health with a focus on equity developed by a team of experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity and the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For the ranking, hospitals were surveyed across three components: 1) assessing hospital contributions to community health as a provider of critical services for community health and preventive care; 2) identifying ways that hospitals contribute to community health as a community partner teaming up with local organizations to implement critical programs; and 3) focusing on ways that hospitals promote community health through their practices as anchor institutions supporting local economic and social progress. Hospitals received credit for meeting a certain number of best practice standards in each component as part of the survey scoring and the new measure led to a change in ranking for more than one-third of the 100 hospitals.
“The nation’s 100 Top Hospitals are proving that a continuous focus on quality to achieve top performance benchmarks can improve outcomes and reduce costs, and more importantly, saves lives and healthcare dollars,” said Dr. Mark Povroznik, vice president of Quality at UHC. “UHC’s patient-centered focus is at the heart of everything we do; coupled with the hard work and tireless dedication of our physicians, nurses, and staff. It is why patients travel several hours to seek care at our facility. We are truly honored to be West Virginia’s only 100 Top Hospital, again.”
This recognition demonstrates UHC’s ongoing commitment to prioritize patient-centered care. According to IBM Watson Health, as compared to similar hospitals, the hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list had better results on key clinical and operational performance indicators. These include survival rates, patient complications, healthcare associated infections, 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital-wide readmission rates, length of stay, throughput in emergency departments, inpatient expenses, profitability and ratings from patients.
“We are proud of all of the hospitals, health systems and their dedicated clinicians and staff included among the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals,” said Irene Dankwa-Mullan, MD, MPH, Chief Health Equity Officer and Deputy Chief Health officer at IBM Watson Health. “From small community hospitals to major teaching hospitals, organizations on this list demonstrate a relentless commitment to high value, patient-centered care and innovation. They also recognize the importance of contributing to the health of their communities and we applaud them for their programs that help provide equitable quality care and address health disparities.”
“UHC’s focus on quality makes a significant difference in the lives of our patients. It is an honor to be ranked nationally for the second consecutive year as a 100 Top Hospital,” said Mike Tillman, CEO at UHC. “We are committed to providing care that rivals what is available nationally through reducing mortality, lowering readmissions, and improving safety; all while dedicated to delivering better outcomes and patient satisfaction at a lower cost.”
For more information, visit http://www.100tophospitals.com/.
About the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® List
The Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list is determined using independent and objective research to analyze hospital performance. Organizations do not apply or pay for this honor or pay to promote their award. Award-winning hospitals and health systems serve as a model of excellence for the industry.
About IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® Program
The IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals Program’s annual studies result in the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list, IBM Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals list and IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems list. Organizations do not apply or pay for this honor or pay to promote their award. Award-winning hospitals and health systems serve as a model of excellence for the industry. Visit http://www.100tophospitals.com/ for more information.
About IBM Watson Health
IBM Watson Health is a data, analytics, and technology partner for the health industry. Supported by the innovation of IBM and intelligence of Watson, we are committed to helping build smarter health ecosystems. Through the combination of our deep industry expertise in health, data and analytics, actionable insights, and reputation for security and trust, Watson Health is working together with its clients and partners to help them achieve simpler processes, better care insights, faster breakthroughs, and improved experiences for people around the world. Learn more at ibm.com/watson/health.
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