Also named best in the nation
for patient privacy monitoring
By KEVIN J. DONALDSON
Crossville Life Features Editor
Cookeville Regional Medical Center has won a prestigious national award for the second year in a row, being named one of “100 Great Community Hospitals” by Becker’s Hospital Review.
It’s just the latest in a series of awards the regional hospital has won, coming from multiple ranking and awards organizations. CRMC was one of only two hospitals in the state to be included in Becker’s rankings. Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga was the only other Tennessee facility to be honored.
The award was the second recent national honor Cookeville Regional has won. The hospital was also rated the overall national award winner for patient privacy monitoring (see details below).
“There are over 5,600 hospitals in the United States of all sizes, so to be included in Becker’s top 100 for the second year in a row is a tremendous honor for us,” said CRMC Chief Executive Officer Paul Korth.
The hospitals on the list are smaller, non-teaching facilities, with under 550 beds. “Some of these are suburban hospitals, but many are located in rural areas and some are their community’s only hospital,” Korth said.
The rankings are based on hospitals’ accolades, and quality of care and services provided to their patient populations. “Becker’s does a lot of different things,” Korth said, “from weekly newsletters to monthly publications. For this award, they rate hospitals by collecting and consolidating data from several different sources. It’s an independent review, based on clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and other factors.”
The Becker’s Hospital Review editorial team selected hospitals for inclusion based on various rankings and awards, including those from iVantage Health Analytics, Truven Health Analytics, Healthgrades and CareChex. The list is not an endorsement of included hospitals, health systems or associated healthcare providers. Organizations can’t pay for inclusion on the list.
National awards are significant
“Any time an independent agency like Becker’s gives you an award, it’s special,” Korth said. “Any time you get an award that puts you in the top five or 10 percent, it’s great. When you get in the top 100 nationwide, it’s very, very significant.”
“Becker’s Hospital Review is a monthly publication offering up-to-date business and legal news and analysis relating to hospitals and health systems,” the company’s website says. “Content is geared toward high-level hospital leaders, and we work to provide valuable content, including hospital and health system news, best practices and legal guidance specifically for these decision-makers. Each issue of Becker’s Hospital Review reaches more than 18,000 people, primarily acute-care hospital CEOs, CFOs and CIOs.”
Becker’s “uses five or six analytical rating agencies and companies, and they compile the information from them to rank us on how we do our job,” Korth said.
The recognition isn’t subjective, but objective, Korth said, “because they’re using clinical data.
“Winning this award for the second consecutive year, combined with all the other recognition CRMC has received in recent years, means we’ve continued to give high quality healthcare to people all over the Upper Cumberland,” Korth said. “This is more of an overall award, where many of our past awards are for a specific discipline or field.”
Awards are due
to hardworking,
compassionate
staff: Korth
The awards and recognition Cookeville Regional Medical Center receives are a result of its total commitment to patient care, and the compassionate, talented people who work there, CEO Paul Korth says.
“These awards and the top-flight care we give patients of the Upper Cumberland region are totally a team effort,” Korth said. “We have a great facility filled with passionate, hard-working physicians and staff who make this a great community hospital by providing high-quality patient care. It’s because of their dedication that we continue to receive these kinds of accolades.
“Our staff and physicians work hard every day to provide our patients with the best in patient care given in a kind, caring and compassionate way. It’s our goal to not only meet our patients’ expectations, but to exceed them.
“Our number one goal at Cookeville Regional is high-quality patient care, and we have a great team here at Cookeville Regional who work hard to ensure that we provide excellent care for our patients,” Korth said. “The support from our board of directors also gives us direction in accomplishing our goals.”
