NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Wednesday, Feb. 8, from Alan Levine, Chairman and CEO of Ballad Health. There is also a press release covering this material that can be viewed here.
Dear Colleague:
When we receive an award for outstanding accomplishment, we always celebrate alongside our colleagues – because we know that behind each recognition is a patient whose life was saved, or whose life was made better. There is a family affected. A community impacted. So, when we receive a recognition, we like to applaud it.
But … when multiple nationally respected organizations step forward and collectively agree that Ballad Health hospitals are among the nation’s elite in services spanning our entire region, it’s hard to even know where to begin to celebrate – particularly at the five-year mark of Ballad Health’s existence. Suffice it to say, we want to start the celebration by sharing the incredible news with you, our valued team members. And then, we want to share it with the entire region, as they deserve to know the incredible work you do, and that your work has been validated by such respected organizations.
Specifically, U.S. News; Quantros, Inc. ChareChex Awards; the American College of Cardiology; and the American Heart Association have all – independently – recognized our hospitals, in multiple services, as being among the nation’s elite. These rankings and recognitions are objective and done independently. Ballad Health did not engage these to be done, and had no input whatsoever on the rankings. Bottom line … you, and our physician partners throughout the region, earned these recognitions because of your focus on patient safety and care. That you accomplished this at the very time we have faced such enormous challenges due to national labor shortages, and during a major pandemic, makes this even more special.
We plan to very aggressively inform the community of these important recognitions in the coming weeks and months, and you will see it. You deserve to be proud of the work you do, and of the team you work with. Please feel free to tell everyone you know about these recognitions! You earned the right to take credit!
Here they are – examples of the multiple recognitions and rankings you earned:
Overall hospital care
Bristol Regional Medical Center, Holston Valley Medical Center, Johnson City Medical Center and Indian Path Community Hospital are recognized by CareChex® and U.S. News for outstanding overall care.
- Quantros named Johnson City Medical Center in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in overall medical care in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- Quantros named Johnson City Medical Center in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in trauma care in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- Holston Valley Medical Center was named by U.S. News’ annual “Best Hospital” study as the ninth-ranked hospital in the state of Tennessee.
- Quantros named Indian Path Community Hospital in the top 10% of hospitals in the state of Tennessee for medical excellence in general surgery in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- Quantros named Indian Path Community Hospital in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in overall surgical care in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- Quantros named Holston Valley Medical Center and Indian Path Community Hospital in the top 10% of hospitals in the state of Tennessee for patient safety in general surgery in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- Quantros named Bristol Regional Medical Center among the top 100 hospitals in the nation for medical excellence in neurological care in its 2023 CareChex® awards. Bristol Regional was also recognized in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in neurological care.
- Quantros named Norton Community Hospital in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for medical excellence in women’s health in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
Orthopedic care
For hip fracture care:
- Quantros named Johnson City Medical Center among the top 100 hospitals in the nation for medical excellence in hip fracture care in its 2023 CareChex® awards. Johnson City Medical Center was also recognized in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in hip fracture care.
- U.S. News recognizes Smyth County Community Hospital as “high-performing” in care for hip fracture patients, with a special notation for providing an excellent patient experience.
For spinal fusion procedures:
- Quantros named Bristol Regional Medical Center in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety and medical excellence in spinal fusion in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
For knee-replacement procedures:
- U.S. News recognizes Holston Valley Medical Center and Johnson City Medical Center as “high-performing,” where both exhibited excellent prevention of prolonged hospitalizations post-procedure.
Cardiovascular care recognition
Bristol Regional Medical Center and Holston Valley Medical Center have been recognized by two distinguished cardiovascular care organizations for providing excellent heart care.
- Bristol Regional has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2022. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients. Bristol Regional has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients with the care outlined by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.
- Holston Valley has received the American Heart Association’s (AHA) GoldPlus Get With The Guidelines – Stroke 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.
For chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:
- U.S. News recognizes Bristol Regional Medical Center, Holston Valley Medical Center, Franklin Woods Community Hospital and Johnson City Medical Center as “high-performing” for pulmonary disease care.
For heart attack care and treatment:
- U.S. News recognizes Bristol Regional Medical Center, Holston Valley Medical Center and Johnson City Medical Center with “high-performing” distinctions. Bristol Regional and Holston Valley are further recognized for their excellent rate of discharging patients directly home, and Johnson City Medical Center is noted for the excellent survival rate of its heart attack patients.
- Quantros named Johnston Memorial Hospital and Lonesome Pine Hospital in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for medical excellence in heart attack treatment its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- Quantros named Johnson City Medical in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in heart attack treatment in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
For heart failure care and treatment:
- U.S. News recognizes Bristol Regional Medical Center, Holston Valley Medical Center, Johnson City Medical Center and Johnston Memorial Hospital with “high-performing” distinctions. Bristol Regional is recognized for having an excellent survival rate of heart failure patients, while the hospital joins Holston Valley and Johnston Memorial in having an excellent rate of discharging patients directly home.
- Quantros named Johnson City Medical in the top 10% of hospitals in the state for patient safety in heart failure treatment in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
For interventional carotid care:
- Quantros named Holston Valley in the top 100 hospitals in the nation for medical excellence in interventional carotid care in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
For stroke care:
- U.S. News recognizes Bristol Regional Medical Center, Johnson City Medical Center and Holston Valley Medical Center with “high-performing” marks for their care of stroke patients, with all three receiving distinction for an excellent rate of discharging patients directly home.
- Quantros named Johnson City Medical in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in stroke care in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
For transcatheter aortic valve replacements:
- U.S. News recognizes Holston Valley Medical Center as “high-performing,” with excellent rates of discharging directly home and preventing readmission.
The hospitals are all part of Ballad Health’s CVA Heart Institute, a network of care where patients across the Appalachian Highlands can take advantage of the latest treatment and procedures founded in science and cutting-edge research.
Surgical care and performance
For colon cancer surgery:
- U.S. News recognizes Bristol Regional and Holston Valley as “high-performing.”
For gall bladder removal:
- Quantros named Sycamore Shoals Hospital and Holston Valley in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation and Johnson City Medical in the top 10% of hospitals in the state for medical excellence in gall bladder removal in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- Quantros named Bristol Regional in the top 100 hospitals in the nation for patient safety in gall bladder removal in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
For major neurological surgery:
- Quantros named Johnson City Medical in the top 10% of hospitals in the state for patient safety in major neurological surgery in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
For spinal surgery:
- Quantros named Bristol Regional in the top 100 hospitals in the nation for medical excellence in spinal surgery in its 2023 CareChex® awards. Bristol Regional was also named in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in spinal surgery.
Pulmonary care
For pneumonia care:
- Quantros named Bristol Regional in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in pneumonia care in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- U.S. News recognizes Indian Path, Johnston Memorial and Norton Community as “high-performing” in pneumonia care with all three being recognized for an excellent rate of discharging patients directly home and a high nurse to patient staffing ratio.
For pulmonary care:
- Quantros named Bristol Regional in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in pulmonary care in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
Additional awards in other care areas
For gastrointestinal care:
- Quantros named Indian Path in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in gastrointestinal care in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- Quantros named Hawkins County in the top 10% of hospitals in the state for medical excellence in gastrointestinal care in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- Quantros named Bristol Regional in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in gastrointestinal hemorrhage in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
- Quantros named Sycamore Shoals in the top 10% of hospitals in the state for medical excellence in gastrointestinal hemorrhage in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
For major bowel procedures:
- Quantros named Smyth County in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for medical excellence in major bowel procedures in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
For kidney failure:
- U.S. News recognizes Bristol Regional, Holston Valley and Johnston Memorial as “high-performing” in care for kidney failure patients. Bristol Regional and Johnston Memorial were praised for an excellent rate of giving patients time at home, with no time or minimal time spent in a hospital, emergency department or nursing home.
For sepsis care:
- Quantros named Smyth County and Lonesome Pine in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation and Greeneville Community Hospital in the top 10% of hospitals in the state for medical excellence in sepsis care in its 2023 CareChex® awards.
Thank you for all you do to help us provide the best possible care for our patients!
Alan Levine
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ballad Health
