Awards and Accreditations
Top 100 Rural and Community Hospital
Watertown Regional Medical Center has been recognized as a 2023 Top 100 Rural and Community hospital. Compiled by The Chartis Center for Rural Health, this annual recognition program honors outstanding performance among the nation’s rural hospitals.
Hospitals are rated in the Chartis rankings using publicly available data sets and scored across eight performance pillars. Hospitals in the top 100 excel in the following areas:
- Managing risk
- Achieving higher quality
- Securing better outcomes
- Increasing patient satisfaction
- Operating at a lower cost
Healthgrades' 2023 Best-in-Class Awards for Patient Experience and Patient Safety
Watertown Regional Medical Center is recognized by Healthgrades as a 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipient and a 2023 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ recipient. This distinction places Watertown Regional among the top 83 ‒ or top 2% ‒ of all short-term, acute-care hospitals as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers.
Healthgrades’ analysis revealed that patients treated at recipient hospitals such as Watertown Regional are less likely to experience the following safety events than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals:
- In-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture (61.6% less likely)
- Collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest (52.7%)
- Pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital (66.1%)
- Catheter-related bloodstream infections (67.3%)
Becker's 2023 Listing of Great Community Hospitals
Watertown Regional Medical Center was one of 153 hospitals included in the 2023 Becker’s Hospital Review listing of “great community hospitals”. Watertown was one of only four hospitals from the state of Wisconsin to make the list. Hospitals recognized in the listing are lauded for their clinical excellence, compassionate care, and economic impact on their communities.
Becker’s described community hospitals as “vital pieces of the overall healthcare system, expanding care access to patients who might otherwise need to travel great distances or face other barriers to care.” WRMC has a legacy of expanding quality care access to those it serves throughout Watertown and the surrounding communities. As examples:
- in April, WRMC opened its newly renovated cardiac catheterization lab, which is equipped with state-of-the-art technology;
- in December of 2022, it began offering the VELYS™ Robotic-Assisted Solution, the latest advancement that helps orthopedic surgeons perform knee replacement surgery tailored to each patient and their quick recovery;
- in April 2022, WRMC added eICU technology, allowing allows critical care doctors to video chat with patients, family, nurses, and fellow doctors, giving them secure access to assist in the care of critically ill patients;
- in 2021, the hospital opened a fully renovated Center for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation space offering physical, occupational, and speech therapy; and
- in 2018, WRMC opened a 15-bed, Senior Behavioral Health Center offering inpatient services to patients 65 and older facing acute mental and behavioral health symptoms (one of a handful of facilities of its kind in the state).
Chest Pain Accredited
Watertown Regional Medical Center received Chest Pain Center accreditation from the American College of Cardiology. We are dedicated to providing our patients with the best heart care treatment available. As an accredited facility, we use the newest methods and best practices in heart care to ensure that our patients receive:
- Right care at the right time to minimize or eliminate heart damage due to heart attack
- Timely and accurate diagnoses to reduce the disruption to your life and get you back home as soon as possible
- Help and communication to better understand how to respond to your heart emergencies
- Improved quality of life after a heart episode
Baby-Friendly Designation
Watertown Regional Medical Center has been designated as a 'Baby-Friendly' hospital after a rigorous review process conducted by Baby-Friendly USA. This distinguished honor demonstrates that WRMC is adhering to the highest standards of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. These standards are built on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
Upon achieving this designation, WRMC became one of the 595 Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers in the United States and one of only 12 in the state of Wisconsin.