Magnet Recognition for Nursing Excellence
St. Mary's Hospital is the only hospital in the region to earn the prestigious Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) of the American Nurses Association. Awarded by the foremost authority on nursing, this national designation is the highest level of recognition that can be given to nursing organizations in health care. Only three percent of hospitals in the nation share this coveted honor. Magnet Recognition was awarded to St. Mary's in April, 2002, and the hospital was re-designated as a Magnet hospital in May, 2006.

Read full story on Magnet Recognition.

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.

Read more on the Solucient 100 Top Hospitals

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."

Read more on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Read Wisconsin State Journal news article.

Wisconsin Forward Award of Excellence
St. Mary's Hospital and St. Mary's Care Center have been honored with Wisconsin Forward Awards, a recognition of quality management practices. In 2008, the Care Center became the first skilled-care nursing home to be awarded the highest level, Excellence. St. Mary's Hospital was awarded the Mastery level, which is the second highest level.

“The awards demonstrate our dedication to performance management, process and quality,” said Dr. Frank Byrne, hospital president. “We are very proud of these accomplishments and of our constant efforts to learn more and improve. They are tributes to our history of excellent patient care and our wonderful employees, physicians and volunteers.”

This year marked the fourth time each organization has received a Forward Award. In 1999, St. Mary's Hospital became the first health care facility in the state to receive the honor.

Wisconsin Forward Award website

American Red Cross Real Heroes
The American Red Cross has added members of St. Mary's Renal Center to its list of Real Heroes for 2006. The department donated time, services, material and money to help victims of the Stoughton tornado and Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps most notably, three nurses helped staff an overloaded dialysis center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while the rest of the team arranged coverage for existing patients in Madison.