Mercy Iowa City has been named to the 2021 Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® list, making it the only hospital in southeast Iowa to earn this recognition. This is the second consecutive year and third year overall Mercy Iowa City has been recognized with this honor as one of the top performing community hospitals.

This award comes after recent recognition as a Fortune/IBM Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospital®, a Blue Distinction® Center+ designation from Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield for quality, cost-effective bariatric surgery, and a five-star hospital rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

IBM Watson Health has identified the top hospitals from a rigorous evaluation of 2,675 short-tern, acute care, non-federal hospitals in the U.S. 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 health care organizations achieve consistent, balanced and sustainable high performance.

“Mercy Iowa City has shown an unwavering commitment to providing the highest quality patient experience and personalized care,” said Sean Williams, President and CEO of Mercy Iowa City. “To receive this high honor from Fortune/IBM Watson, among other recent recognition, highlights the expert level the health care Mercy Iowa City provides to the community. All health care organizations were dealt challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic this past year, and providers and colleagues went above and beyond to ensure the high-quality patient care given to patients remained top tier. To earn this recognition for the second consecutive year shows Mercy Iowa City is the leading hospital for southeast Iowa.”

This recognition demonstrates Mercy Iowa City’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.”

For more information, visit http://www.100tophospitals.com/.

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About Mercy Iowa City

Mercy Iowa City is an acute care hospital and regional referral center for southeast Iowa. Mercy has received: the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) 5 Star Rating as a Top 2% of all hospitals for the fifth consecutive year, the only hospital in Iowa to do so; the Fortune IBM/Watson Health 100 Top Hospital ranking; the accredited Chest Pain Center with the American Heart Association Gold Plus Achievement Award for Stroke Care; the Top 100 Community Hospitals Award in 2018 and 2019 from Becker’s Review; the Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award for Mercy’s Emergency Care Unit by achieving 95 percent for patient experience for 13 consecutive years; and the Center of Distinction Award from Healogics for Mercy’s Wound and Vein Center. Mercy has 194 acute care beds, 25 private rooms for outpatient surgery, a 26-bed nursery with Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, 28 primary and specialty care clinics, a medical staff of 250 physicians representing all major medical specialties and most subspecialties, and 1,350 employees. It was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1873 and became an affiliate of MercyOne in 2017. To learn more visit www.mercyiowacity.org. 

About the Fortune/IBM Watson Health Top 100 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 Top 100 Hospitals® Program

The IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals Program’s annual studies result in the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list, Fortune/IBM Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals list and IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems list. Organizations to 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.