UPMC Susquehanna Recognized for Outstanding Achievements in Healthcare

UPMC Susquehanna is committed to providing the best possible care and services for our patients. These efforts have led to numerous awards and prestigious recognition over the past years.

2019

Members of the continuing care team at UPMC Susquehanna Soldiers + Sailors were awarded the Baronner Rural Innovation and Transformation (BRIT) Award by the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health. The award recognizes rural hospitals and health systems that have implemented a robust and sustainable initiative to significantly impact the health status of the communities they serve. The team developed new processes and support materials to help reduce complications following discharge which historically led to readmission.

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Williamsport achieved American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO) Accreditation in Radiation Oncology. To achieve the three-year accreditation award, the facility had to undergo rigorous peer reviews, including reviews of patient care, safety practices, and technology; as well as several months of on-site visits evaluating a wide range of factors from staffing to quality assurance, safety, and work processes. (March 2019)

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Williamsport was awarded the 2018 Outstanding Achievement Award by the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Williamsport one of a select group of 24 U.S. accredited cancer programs to receive this national honor for cancer surveys performed Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2018, and the only program to be recognized in Pennsylvania. (March 2019)

UPMC Susquehanna Muncy was recognized by The National Rural Health Resource Center (The Center) and the Pennsylvania Flex Program with The Critical Access Hospital Recognition Certificate for keeping pace with health care transformation, which is imperative to sustaining access to health services for rural communities. (February 2019)

2018

The laboratory at UPMC Susquehanna Soldiers + Sailors received re-accreditation from the Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP). In addition, the Point of Care Testing program and Blood Gas Laboratory also received accreditation. (December 2018)

The Joint Commission, in conjunction with The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, re-certified UPMC Susquehanna Lock Haven as an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital.

From diagnosis and treatment to survivorship, the Cancer Center of UPMC Susquehanna offers patients the highest clinical quality and most comprehensive practices close-to-home, a methodology officially recognized by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer® (CoC). The CoC recognized the center with a GOLD-level commendation for UPMC Susquehanna’s comprehensive community cancer program through 2021, receiving commendation (highest level of accreditation) in all categories possible. (July 2018)

UPMC Susquehanna received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR ACTION Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2018 for excellence in heart attack care. UPMC Susquehanna is one of only 37 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor. By receiving the ACTION Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award, UPMC Susquehanna demonstrated sustained achievement in the ACTION Registry for eight consecutive quarters and has performed at the top level of standards for specific performance measures.

UPMC Susquehanna was named one of the nation’s 15 Top Health Systems by IBM Watson Health (NYSE: IBM). Formerly known as the Truven Health Analytics® 15 Top Health Systems, this study spotlights the best-performing health systems in the U.S., based on a balanced scorecard of measures derived from publicly available clinical, operational, and patient satisfaction data. This is the first time UPMC Susquehanna has been recognized with this honor. (April 2018)

UPMC Susquehanna Williamsport was one of 750 awarded an “A” for its commitment to keeping patients safe and meeting the highest safety standards in the U.S. by the Leapfrog Group. This is the fourth year in a row the hospital has received this designation. (April 2018)

Employee service partners with the multidisciplinary falls team at UPMC Susquehanna Williamsport were named winners in the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority’s annual I Am Patient Safety contest. (March 2018)

The Joint Commission, in conjunction with The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, recognized and re-certified UPMC Susquehanna with The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers. The Gold Seal of Approval® and the Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations. (March 2018)

Williamsport Regional Medical Center became the regions only hospital to earn The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Total Hip and Total Knee Joint Replacement Certification. (January 2018)

2017

UPMC Susquehanna Lock Haven earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Nursing Care Center Accreditation Post-Acute Care and Memory Care Certifications by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient and resident care. (November 2017)

UPMC Susquehanna was recognized with the Gold Well Workplace Award from WELCOA (Wellness Council of America). The recognition was awarded to UPMC Susquehanna’s employee health & wellness department for successfully building comprehensive worksite wellness initiatives and demonstrating and documenting concrete outcomes. UPMC Susquehanna was the only Gold Award recipient in Pennsylvania. (November 2017)

Laboratories at UPMC Susquehanna’s Williamsport Regional Medical Center and Muncy Valley Hospital received accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP)’s Accreditation Program. Williamsport Regional Medical Center and Muncy Valley Hospital laboratories, as well as Divine Providence Hospital and Soldiers + Sailors Memorial Hospital laboratories, are all part of a network of more than 7,700 CAP-accredited medical facilities worldwide. (October 2017)

UPMC Susquehanna’s Williamsport Regional Medical Center was one of 832 awarded an “A” for its commitment to keeping patients safe and meeting the highest safety standards in the U.S. by the Leapfrog Group. This is the third year in a row the hospital has received this designation. (October 2017)

UPMC Susquehanna earned two Achievement Awards from The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) for outstanding efforts to improve health care in the state. The entries, “MIA: Missing Instruments Accountability Instrument Tracking System Implementation” (Optimal Operations Award) and “Together is Better: Protecting, Promoting and Supporting Mothers and Babies Through the Baby-Friendly Journey” (Excellence in Care Award) were both recognized. (August 2017)

UPMC Susquehanna’s Muncy Valley Hospital and Soldiers + Sailors Memorial Hospital are two of the 15 Critical Access Hospitals in Pennsylvania which were recognized along with nine other states' Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for outstanding quality performance in achieving the highest reporting rates and levels of improvement over the past year. (August 2017)

UPMC Susquehanna has again been recognized as one of the nation’s Most Wired medical facilities, according to the 2017 Most Wired Survey by Hospitals & Health Networks (H&HN), published in the July issue of the American Hospital Association’s Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. (July 2017)

Susquehanna Regional EMS (SREMS) was recently recognized for the second year in a row by the American Heart Association with their Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Award for implementing quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks. (May 2017)

Rehabilitation Services earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Brain Injury Rehabilitation Certification. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care. (May 2017)

Williamsport Regional Medical Center was designated as a Baby-Friendly Hospital by Baby-Friendly USA. (March 2017)

Employee service partners with the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Infectious Disease at UPMC Susquehanna’s Williamsport Regional Medical Center were named winners in the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority’s annual I Am Patient Safety Contest. (March 2017)

2016

UPMC Susquehanna’s medical group was named 2016 Acclaim Award Honoree by AMGA. The award recognizes and celebrates the successes that medical groups and other organized systems of care have achieved in improving the value – the quality and cost of care – of the health care services provided within their communities. (November 2016)

UPMC Susquehanna was named a 2016 Employer of Choice® following a rigorous evaluation process. This recognition is presented by Employer of Choice, Inc. of Austin, Texas to organizations that are dedicated to a higher level of employee relations and go above and beyond the normal practices of human resources. (November 2016)

Susquehanna Health’s Hospice and Palliative Care program was honored with the prestigious 2016 Circle of Life® Award from the American Hospital Association for providing innovative services with compassionate high-quality care. (July 2016)

Susquehanna Health has again been recognized as one of the nation’s Most Wired medical facilities, according to the 2016 Most Wired Survey by Hospitals & Health Networks (H&HN), published in the July issue of the American Hospital Association’s Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. (July 2016)

Susquehanna Health’s Muncy Valley Hospital was named one of the Healthstrong^TM Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the United States by iVantage Health Analytics for the fourth year in a row. Muncy Valley Hospital is the only hospital in the State of Pennsylvania given this award for 2016 by iVantage. (June 2016)

Susquehanna Regional EMS (SREMS) was recently recognized by the American Heart Association with their Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Award for implementing quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks. (May 2016)

Global Partners in Care, an affiliate organization of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), recently recognized the partnership between Susquehanna Health Home Care & Hospice and Shirati Hospital Palliative Care, Tanzania, with the 2016 Global Partnership Award. The Global Partnership Award recognizes the exemplary work of one partnership that has demonstrated leadership, innovation and has significantly contributed to the sustainable development of hospice and palliative care through their Global Partners in Care partnership. The award winner is selected based on creativity in fundraising, partner collaboration, staff contribution and commitment, and community outreach and involvement. (April 2016)

The Joint Commission, in conjunction with The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, recognized Susquehanna Health with The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers. The Gold Seal of Approval® and the Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations. (April 2016)

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield recently recognized Susquehanna Health’s Williamsport Regional Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement, part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated healthcare facilities shown to deliver improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies with input from the medical community. (April 2016)

Susquehanna Health received the Vizient Excellence Award for Sourcing and Resource Management, an award recognizing significant improvement in its supply chain performance by implementation of new sourcing and resource management processes, from Vizient, Inc. (April 2016)

Susquehanna Health's Williamsport Regional Medical Center earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval® for Hip and Knee Joint Replacement Certification. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization's commitment to providing safe and effective patient care. (March 2016)

2015

Susquehanna Health Endoscopy was recognized by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), a leading gastrointestinal medical society, for promoting quality in endoscopy. Susquehanna Health Endoscopy is one of more than 400 endoscopy units to be granted the recognition since 2009. (November 2015)

Surgical Information Systems (SIS), a leader in perioperative information systems, recently recognized Susquehanna Health with the Perioperative Leader of the Year Award. Susquehanna Health was recognized for their leadership in advancing the use of surgical technology in support of health system initiatives to continually provide optimal, cost-effective surgical services. (November 2015)

Susquehanna Health’s Williamsport Regional Medical Center (WRMC) has been recognized as being among the “Most Connected Hospitals” for 2015-16 by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital is among 158 that met U.S. News’ standards, spanning clinical connectedness, patient engagement and patient safety. (November 2015)

Susquehanna Health was recently recognized for continuing to offer wellness programs promoting a healthy workplace with the 2015 Continuing Excellence Award by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Chamber Choice and the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce. (October 2015)

Susquehanna Health has again been recognized as one of the nation’s Most Wired medical facilities, according to the 2015 Most Wired Survey by Hospitals & Health Networks (H&HN), published in the July issue of the American Hospital Association’s Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. Susquehanna Health has received the Most Wired recognition 13 of the past 15 years. (July 2015)

Susquehanna Health’s Muncy Valley Hospital (MVH) recently received accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP)’s Accreditation Program. The accreditation is based on results from recent on-site inspections conducted by CAP. Susquehanna Health’s Muncy Valley Hospital laboratory, as well as Divine Providence Hospital, Soldiers + Sailors Memorial Hospital and Williamsport Regional Medical Center laboratories, are all part of a network of more than 7,000 CAP-accredited medical facilities worldwide. (July 2015)

Caring for mind, body and being, Susquehanna Health Cancer Centers embrace a “whole person” approach to treatment. From diagnosis and treatment to survivorship, the Cancer Center at Divine Providence Hospital offers patients the highest clinical quality and most comprehensive practices close-to-home, a methodology officially recognized by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer® (CoC). The CoC recognized the center with a three-year designation as the only comprehensive community cancer program in the region to receive full accreditation with six commendations awarded for quality and outcome measures. (July 2015)

Susquehanna Health received seven Healthcare Advertising Awards including Best of Show for Newsletter for the Susquehanna Health magazine, Gold for Total Integrated Campaign for the Susquehanna Healthy Campaign, Gold for Direct Mail for the Cancer Services Direct Mail Campaign and Gold for Newsletter for the Susquehanna Health magazine. (June 2015)

Susquehanna Health was also recognized with five Aster Awards. Aster Awards is a medical marketing awards program allowing healthcare organizations and advertising agencies to compete against similarly sized competitors from across the nation and world. SH’s awards included Silver for Publication/Internal for the 2014 Playbook, Silver for Direct Mail for the Cancer Services Direct Mail Campaign, Bronze for Special Events for 2014 Spirit of Women Girls’ Night Out (Lycoming) and Bronze for Total Advertising Campaign for the Susquehanna Healthy Campaign. (June 2015)

Susquehanna Health magazine also received a Gold Award from Hermes Creative Awards. Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional materials and programs, and emerging technologies administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals. (June 2015)

Susquehanna Health became one of only four organizations in Pennsylvania to earn The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Certification. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care. (April 2015)

The Susquehanna Health Cancer Center was recently honored by the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC) for offering an oncology care setting where a majority (more than 50 percent) of Registered Nurses (RNs) are advanced certified through their certification programs; 100 percent of RNs treating outpatient cases at the Divine Providence Hospital and Soldiers + Sailors Memorial Hospital Cancer Centers. Susquehanna Health is the only oncology care setting to receive the ONCC Employer Recognition Award in northcentral Pennsylvania. (February 2015)

Susquehanna Health’s Muncy Valley Hospital was recently recognized by the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health for being a leader in critical access hospital quality in the nation and state with the Louis A. Ditzel Jr. Award for Quality Improvement in Rural Health. The Louis A. Ditzel, Jr. Award for Quality Improvement in Rural Health recognizes an individual or organization whose contributions and visionary leadership significantly improve the health of rural Pennsylvanians and strengthen the quality of the health care systems that serve them. Muncy Valley Hospital is one of 13 Critical Access Hospitals in Pennsylvania, a designation that recognizes the unique characteristics of very small rural hospitals. (January 2015)

2014

The Joint Commission, in conjunction with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recognized Susquehanna Health with Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Center in 2014. Achievement of Primary Stroke Center Certification signifies the organization's dedication to fostering better outcomes for patients. Susquehanna Health programs meet critical elements of performance used to achieve long-term success in improving stroke patient outcomes.

Susquehanna Health’ s Williamsport Regional Medical Center (WRMC) was named Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of healthcare organizations in America. WRMC was recognized for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for frequently occurring medical conditions.

Susquehanna Health’s Williamsport Regional Medical Center scored the highest patient safety rating in Pennsylvania and in the top four in the United States. Data from readmissions, complications, communication, the overuse of CT scans, and infections compiled by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, state governments and the Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit organization that collects data on hospital safety all factor into this ranking.

Williamsport Regional Medical Center received the Blue Distinction Center + Specialty Care award for Knee & Hip Replacement and Spine Surgery.

Susquehanna Health was named a 2014 – 2016 Employer of Choice® following a rigorous evaluation process. This two-year recognition is presented by Employer of Choice, Inc. of Austin, Texas to organizations that are dedicated to a higher level of employee relations and go above and beyond the normal practices of human resources. Susquehanna Health is one of only a small number of hospitals nationwide to be honored with the designation.

Susquehanna Health has been recognized as one of the nation’s Most Wired medical facilities, according to the 2014 Most Wired Survey by Hospitals & Health Networks (H&HN), published in the July issue of the American Hospital Association’s Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. Susquehanna Health has received the Most Wired recognition 12 of the past 14 years.

Williamsport Regional Medical Center received the award for Most Innovation in Healthcare-Associated Infections by reducing surgical site infections. The award was presented by Quality Insights of Pennsylvania, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Pennsylvania.

SH has received the Mission: Lifeline® Bronze Plus Receiving Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. The Lifeline program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation clinical treatment guidelines.

Susquehanna Health’s Cancer Center was granted a Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation from the Commission on Cancer (CoC), a multidisciplinary program of the American College of Surgeons. The Cancer Center has been accredited by the CoC for over thirty years.

Susquehanna Health’s Muncy Valley Hospital was named one of the Healthstrong^TM Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the United States by iVantage Health Analytics for the second year in a row. Muncy Valley Hospital is the only CAH named to the list from the state of Pennsylvania.

Susquehanna Health recently received 12 prestigious national and international awards from the Aster Awards and HMR Publications for healthcare marketing materials ranging from advertising and recruitment campaigns to printed communications and website design.

The Joint Commission, in conjunction with The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recognized Susquehanna Health with Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers. Achievement of Primary Stroke Center Certification signifies an organization’s dedication to fostering better outcomes for patients. Susquehanna Health’s Primary Stroke Center Certification has demonstrated that their program meets critical elements of performance to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes for stroke patients.

Susquehanna Health (SH) was presented with the merit designation “Employer of Choice^®”. This coveted recognition is presented to Susquehanna Health due to the demonstrated dedication to the highest level of employee relationships, a level that goes above and beyond normal practices of Human Resources.