Aspirus Wausau Hospital (AWH) was recognized by IBM Watson Health in its annual 100 Top Hospitals study. The study identifies the top-performing hospitals in the country based on overall organizational performance.

Formerly known as the Truven Health Analytics® 100 Top Hospitals, this study spotlights the best-performing hospitals in the U.S. based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational and patient satisfaction metrics and data. It has been conducted annually since 1993.

“This is an extraordinary achievement for Aspirus Wausau Hospital. It clearly illustrates the talent and dedication of our board members, physicians, employees, volunteers and community members,” said Aspirus Wausau Hospital President Darrell Lentz. “Aspirus aims to continue to provide the best health care possible to our community, while maintaining an efficient and effective facility.”

According to the IBM Watson Health national balanced scorecard, this year’s 100 Top Hospitals study revealed significant achievements from Aspirus Wausau Hospital and the other 99 award winning hospitals. The study concluded the highest-performing hospitals:
•Survival rates were 26% better than at peer hospitals.
•Patients experienced 13.4% fewer complications and 18.7% fewer infections.
•Patients’ median severity-adjusted length of stay was nearly one half-day shorter.
•Emergency department wait times were 17 minutes shorter.
•Average inpatient costs per discharger were 7% lower.
•Patient satisfaction was measured at 3.4% higher.

IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals study uses only publicly available data to identify the nation’s hospitals that provide the highest level of value to their communities. It uses a national balanced scorecard based on key performance measures, including mortality, inpatient complications, patient safety, average patient stay, expenses, profitability, patient satisfaction, adherence to clinical standards of care, post-discharge mortality and readmission rates.

According to IBM Watson Health, if the new national benchmarks of high performance established by Aspirus Wausau Hospital and the other 2018 award winning hospitals were achieved by all hospitals in the US, the following would be true:

More than 102,000 additional lives could be saved.
More than 43,000 additional patients could be complication-free.
More than $4.4 billion in inpatient costs could be saved.
Approximately 200,000 fewer discharged patients would be readmitted within 30 days.
IBM Watson Health has become one of the leading ways the industry can measure hospital performance in the nation. For the full list of the 100 Top Hospitals, please visit 100tophospitals.com.