Quality & Recognition

St. Mary’s Well-Known for its Nursing Excellence

St. Mary’s attained an elite status in 2011 when they were designated as a Magnet® hospital for the third time in a row. Less than 1% of the nation’s 6,000 hospitals have done the same. Magnet hospitals are considered “the gold standard” of nursing. Their emphasis on quality, innovation and collaboration tends to lead to better outcomes, high patient satisfaction and a more stable workforce.

Well-known as a leader in nursing, St. Mary’s was first designated as a Magnet hospital in 2002. Since then, the hospital has demonstrated the continuous quality improvement that is required of hospitals of this caliber.

Read full story on Magnet Recognition.

Wisconsin Forward Award

SSM Health Care of Wisconsin is among the six organizations recognized in 2011 by the Wisconsin Forward Award at the Mastery Level. It’s the first year the system has applied for a Forward Award as a region. The application included St. Mary’s Hospital and St. Mary’s Care Center in Madison, St. Clare Hospital and St. Clare Meadows in Baraboo and the soon to be open St. Mary’s Janesville Hospital.

Receiving recognition at the mastery level means SSM Health Care of Wisconsin has demonstrated significant maturity in developing and refining processes that are tied to good results in such areas as building a highly-skilled workforce, financial and organizational performance, along with exceptional customer satisfaction and retention.

“We talk about being exceptional in everything we do from safety, to patient and employee satisfaction,” says Steve Barney, Interim Regional President & CEO of SSM Health Care of Wisconsin. “The Mastery award is a great pat on the back for all of us.”

Get With the Guidelines - Stroke Silver Plus Award

St. Dean & St. Mary’s Stroke Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^® - Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the Center’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. To receive the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award, Dean & St. Mary’s Stroke Center achieved at least 12 consecutive months of 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement indicators and achieved at least 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures during that same period of time, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care.

100 Top Hospitals Award

St. Mary's Hospital earned a spot in the 2006 Solucient 100 Top Hospitals^® list based on objective statistical measurements in five areas: clinical outcomes, patient safety, operational efficiency, financial stability and growth in patient volume. Award winners rank at or above the 90th percentile in these measures against hospitals in their comparison groups. Solucient, a health care information products company, studied nearly 3,000 hospitals nationwide. According to the company, the 100 Top Hospitals have higher patient survival rates, keep more patients complication-free and attract more patients—all while maintaining sound finances.

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

SSM Health Care, parent organization of St. Mary's, in May 2003 became the first health care organization in the country to be named a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner. The award is the top honor a U.S. company can receive for quality management and quality achievement. SSM Health Care was the only one of 17 health care institutions to apply that was given the award.

"SSM Health Care is a role model of world-class excellence and has achieved extraordinary results," U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evan said in announcing the decision. "The men and women of this organization represent the highest ethical standards in public responsibility and corporate citizenship. I am particularly pleased to join the President in announcing a first-time winner in health care."