Awards & Recognitions

Recognized for excellence
Mission provides excellent patient care - but you don't have to take our word for it. The awards and recognitions below demonstrate that we rank with the best in providing patients the best possible "outcomes" - shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, and fuller recoveries.  

Mission Health System
2011: Named by Thomson Reuters as one of the 57 best-performing systems in the U.S. based on 285 organizations analyzed. The study measures health systems that apply process improvements that improve patient care and reduce costs.

 Mission Hospital
2011: Mission Hospital has been named to The Community Value 100 list compiled by Cleverley & Associates. Mission, Blue Ridge Health System, and McDowell Hospital were also named as Cleverley & Associates "Community Value Five-Star Hospital for 2011," listing them within the top quintile (20%) of hospitals studied.  The Community Value Index (CVI) is a study designed to identify hospitals that bring value to their community for being financially viable, is appropriately reinvesting back into the facility, maintains a low cost structure, and provides high quality patient care.

2009: National Quality Forum Recognition

Mission was named a finalist for the National Quality Forum 2009 National Quality Healthcare Award. This year's national winner was Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston. Mission was recognized as finishing in the top four in the country for this award for 2009. The award recognized healthcare organizations that are successfully using performance measures to drive quality improvements and patient care.

2009 Mission recognized as a Best in Value Award Winner by the Data Advantage Corporation based upon the 2009/2010 Hospital Value Index. This award recognizes hospitals that have proven exceptional value in their communities in the US based upon national data including the Hospital Compare data.

2009: NOVA Award for Lighten Up 4 Life
Lighten Up 4 Life, the community weight loss challenge introduced in late 2007, won a 2009 NOVA Award from the American Hospital Association for improving community health. It is only one of five hospitals recognized out of 58 applicants.

2009: Mission is named a top performer by HQID in heart attack treatment and was rewarded for delivering high quality care in a total of five clinical areas by the Centers for Medicare& Medicaid Services. Based on fourth-year results from the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) project, Mission placed in the top 20 percent of hospitals for treatment of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). Mission also exceeded median level scores in coronary artery bypass graft, hip and knee replacement, treatment of heart failure and pneumonia.

Over the course of the first four years of the project, Mission has received 11 overall awards in five clinical areas, receiving $847,928 in awards. The Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services has awarded more than $36.5 million overall the first four years of the project.

2009 Most Wired Hospital
2008 Most Wired Hospital and Most Wireless Hospital
Mission Hospital was named both a "Most Wired" and "Most Wireless" hospitals in America according to results of the "2008 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study" released in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks Magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association. The results are used to name the 100 Most Wired Hospitals and health systems, and focuses on how the nation's hospitals use information technologies for quality, customer service, public health and safety, business processes and workforce issues.

2011,2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005: Mission honored as a Consumer Choice Award hospital
This award, sponsored by the National Research Corporation, identifies hospitals which healthcare consumers have chosen as having the highest quality and image in 180 markets throughout the United States. Winners are determined by consumer perceptions on multiple quality and image ratings.

Great 100 Nurses in North Carolina
Since the inception of this peer recognition program, Mission has consistently won a disproportionately high number of honorees in Great 100 Nurses of North Carolina, 149 nurses in all. In 2009, five Mission nurses were recognized.

2009: Mission named a member of NC Prevention Partner's Health Food Centers of Excellence. Mission was cited for demonstrating leadership and excellence in obesity prevention through Lighten Up 4 Life, integrating locally-grown produce into the cafeteria, providing an on-campus farmer's market, and mentoring other area hospitals in how to promote healthy foods.

2009 Cleverley & Associates' Five Star Hospital List: Mission Hospital was ranked within the top 20% of hospitals in the U.S. using the Community Value Index (CVI) ranking. the CVI was created to provide a measure of the value that a hospital provides to its community. All hospitals are rated by financial viability and plant reinvestment; hospital cost structure; hospital charge structure; and hospital quality performance.

2009: Mission Health System was named one of 25 "Spirit of North Carolina Campaigning for Excellence" award recipients by United Way of North Carolina.

2008: Mission Named Employer of the Year for North Carolina by Goodwill Industries.

2008: Mission named a Red Apple hospital by NC Prevention Partners for successfully implementing healthy food guidelines. To qualify for this award, a hospital must actively improve access to healthy foods, use pricing to promote healthy foods, market healthy foods with icons, offer strategically placed nutrition labels and educate staff and visitors about nutrition. Additionally, they must use employee benefits and incentives to promote healthy behaviors among employees.

2007: Named by Business North Carolina magazine one of Top hospitals in the state.  
Business North Carolina Magazine in 2007 named Mission as one of the top three hospitals in the state for overall clinical excellence, and one of the top hospitals in the state for orthopedics, heart and vascular.

2007: CMS top performer in the treatment of both acute myocardial infarction and pneumonia. Mission earned a $230,000 quality award for this designation from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare.  In 2006 Mission received a $336,000 quality bonus from CMS for performance in both congestive heart failure and total joint replacement.

2006: Mission earned the U.S. Health and Human Services Organ Donation medal of honor. This medal is awarded to hospitals that have achieved at least a 75% donation rate as part of the national organ donation initiative launched in 2003. The national average donation rate for all hospitals is 59%. Mission ranks among 371 hospital leaders in organ donation.

2005 and 2004: Named as a "Top 100 Hospital" by Solucient In 2004, and again in 2005, Mission Hospital was selected as a Solucient Top 100 Hospitals for the preceding year, an award based on outstanding performance in four critical areas: clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, financial results and adaptation to environmental change. Only three other hospitals in North Carolina were named for 2003.
The Top 100 award is based on Solucient's annual National Benchmarks for Success study, which is based on analysis of data from more than 6,000 acute care general hospitals. Mission was listed in the Teaching Hospital category. Solucient is the nation's leading source of health care business information.

2004 & 2007: Cleverley Award: Mission and Blue Ridge Regional Hospital were both named 5-star hospitalsby the State of the Industry 2007 by Cleverley & Associates. The ranking looks at hospital financial and operational management. 2005: BRRH was also named a State of the Hospital "Top 100 Community Value Hospital."

2004: Mission Laboratory ISO 9001 registered
Mission's Laboratory is ISO 9001 registered, effective September, 2004. This means that it meets standards for quality established by the International Organization for Standards. Its quality process measures have been adopted by over 100 countries throughout the world as their national quality standard.
Certification is good for three years, as long as the lab demonstrates continuous improvement and passes continuing internal and independent audits.

2004: Recognized by Commonwealth Fund
Mission Hospital was identified as one of the four top performing hospitals in the nation in a 2004 Commonwealth Fund study. Their study highlighted the practices at Mission that led to these high outcomes. These included Mission's formal commitment to quality; its use of data, performance panels and programs to achieve quality; its leadership structure and physician involvement; a corporate culture of excellence; caliber of staff, processes for care delivery and having the right tools for high performance. The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that supports independent research on health and social issues and makes grants to improve health care practice and quality.

2003: Cited in Money Magazine
Mission and several of its physicians were listed in Money Magazine's top-rated and highest volume hospitals for 20 common medical treatments. The listing was based on HealthGrades rankings.

Note: Although Mission has received numerous high rankings from HealthGrades, we are not permitted to mention them in any type of marketing because we do not have a contract to do so.  

 Mission Healthcare Foundation
2009: Better Business Bureau Seal
Mission Healthcare Foundation, Inc. earned the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance Charity Seal, making it the first Asheville-based charity to achieve this major designation.      

 Heart Services
2010:  Heart Services at Mission Hospital received the Gold Performance Achievement Award given by the American College of Cardiology Foundation for treatment of heart attack. The award is based on a hospital's consistent use of treatment guidelines established by combining criteria from two rigorous programs: ACTION Registry developed by the National Cardiovascular Data Registry, and the "Get With the Guidelines" program for heart attack developed by the American Hearth Association.

2010, 2009, 2008, 2007: Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) awards three-star rating.
Mission's heart surgery program earns the highest rating by the STS, for its level of quality. Approximately 15% of hospitals nationwide received the three-star rating. 

2009: Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care given by North Carolina Blue Cross and Blue Shield. To be eligible of Blue Distinction designation, a hospital must perform a required volume of percutaneous coronary interventions and coronary artery bypass graft surgeries, and provide a full range of services, including cardiac rehabilitation.

2009: Silver Performance Award for excellent care of heart attack patients awarded by the American College of Cardiology Foundation for excellent care of heart attack patients.

2011, 2009: Mission Hospital received full accreditation as a Chest Pain Center from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The designation of an accredited Chest Pain Center establishes Mission Hospitals as a premier hospital for acute cardiac care in this area. It communicates that the hospital offers a full-spectrum emergency cardiac care program, offering rapid diagnosis and fast track treatment, often preventing a severe heart attack from occurring.

2008: Named UnitedHealth Premium Cardiac Specialty Center for 2007 - 2009.
Mission is specifically cited by UnitedHealth for its cardiac rhythm management, such as implantation of pacemakers and implantable defibrillators; cardiac care, including emergency care and interventional services; and cardiac surgery.

Fall 2010, Spring 2008 AACN Beacon Award
Mission's Cardiovascular Critical Care and Recovery Units received the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence from the American Association of a Critical Care Nurses. The Beacon Award is given twice yearly for units that exhibit the highest quality standards in nurse recruitment and retention, patient outcomes, staff training, healthy work environments, leadership and evidence-based practice and research.

2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2000: A Top 100 Heart Hospital
For each of these years, Mission Hospital's heart program was named among the nation's top 100 in the "Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success" study made by Thomson Healthcare (formerly Solucient), a provider of comprehensive health care information. The Cardiovascular 100 Top Hospitals® award recognizes hospitals that have set national clinical and management benchmarks for full-service cardiovascular programs during a single year. In 2006 and 2007 Mission was the only hospital in North or South Carolina to receive the designation.

According to Thomson, if all acute care heart hospitals in the nation performed at the same level as Mission and the other top 100 heart hospitals, more than 7,000 lives would be saved, and nearly 750 medical complications avoided each year.

2007: CMS top performer in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. Mission earned a $230,000 quality award for this designation from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare.  In 2006 Mission received a $336,000 quality bonus from CMS for performance in both congestive heart failure and total joint replacement.

2006 and 2005: Received Premier Quality Award for treatment of heart failure and acute myocardial infarction
The Premier awards for Quality are based on quality and cost data regularly submitted to Premier for reporting and benchmarking purposes. The Premier awards are distinguished by being based on performance-based criteria, including clinical quality outcomes, clinical process indicators and resource utilization outcomes. Mission was recognized for treatment of both congestive heart failure and acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) in 2006, and for treatment of heart failure in 2005.

Stroke Services
2011, 2010: Mission received the Stroke Gold Plus award. The award recognizes that Mission has sustained quality performance measures for 12 months - greater than 75% for 6 of the 10 stroke quality measures. This builds on our previous awards. Mission received Silver Awards in 2007 and 2008, and the Gold Performance Achievement Award in 2009.

2009: Mission received the Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award 

2007 & 2008: Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award
The Stroke Program of  Mission Hospital was recognized in the recent annual "best hospitals" edition of U.S.News & World Report for making sure that our stroke patients consistently get the treatment and care proven to give them the best possible chance of survival and recovery. Mission is named as one of the hospitals in the nation which has received a Silver Performance Achievement Award from  the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for meeting criteria set by their joint "Get With The Guidelines"  program. To achieve the silver award, hospitals must meet the specified guidelines at least 85 percent of the time for 12 months in a row.  

 Women's Services
2010: Breastfeeding-friendly Workplace Award presented by The North Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition in recognition of our efforts to promote the health of working families.

2010: Mission Hospital earned the rigorous Baby Friendly Hospital Distinction given to hospitals for their advocacy of breastfeeding among new mothers. We are the first hospital in North Carolina and one of only 89 in the nation to earn the designation.  The Baby Friendly designation is given by Baby Friendly USA, an organization working to implement the UNICEF/WHO initiative to encourage breast feeding worldwide, and promoting the health value of breastfeeding and human milk for mothers, babies, and society.  Mission received official notification of its designation from the Nutrition Services Branch of the North Carolina Division of Public Health.

2009: Mission Hospital received the Golden Bow Award presented by the NC Breastfeeding Coalition in recognition of our decision not to distribute commercial marketing giveaways from formula makers to new mothers. The award honors hospitals that protect, promote and support breastfeeding.  

Fullerton Genetics Center
2005: National Birth Defects Education and Prevention Award Mission's Fullerton Genetics Center was nationally honored for its Folic Acid Campaign by the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN, a large network of programs and individuals working at the local, state, and national level in birth defects surveillance, research, and prevention. It is the only award given to an individual agency or program.  

Respiratory Therapy
2009: Quality Respiratory Care Recognition
Mission earned this recognition for the fourth time since its 2003 inception from the American Association for Respiratory Care.  

Emergency Department
2008: Advance for Nurses Best Nursing Team Award
Mission's Emergency Department Single-Point-of-Discharge nursing team received the Best
Nursing Team 2008 Award from Advance for Nurses, a southeast regional magazine. Recognized for their initiative, adaptability, teamwork, and recruitment and retention successes, this team of nine nurses works to address patients' needs in real time before they leave the Emergency Room. The team was featured in the cover story of the May 5, 2008 issue of Advance for Nurses.

Endocrinology Services
2007: Top 50 Endocrinology Hospitals in the United States
Mission's Endocrinology Program was recognized in the July 2007 "best hospitals" edition of U.S.News & World Report as one of the top 50 in the nation. Mission's program was officially rated 46th nation wide based on several hard data measurement indicators such as good patient outcomes, as well as "reputational" ratings from experts around the nation. Ratings can be seen by going to usnews.com

Orthopaedic Services
2010: Blue Distinction Center for clinical excellence in both Spine Surgery and Hip and Knee Replacement
Given by  NC Blue Cross and Blue Shield and based on nationally endorsed quality measures, the designation means that Mission's programs have met key quality standards that can lead to improved care outcomes.

2006: Ranked among Top 50 orthopedic hospitals by U.S.News & World Report magazine
Mission's Orthopedic Program was recognized in a July 2006 edition of the U.S. News & World Report "best hospitals" edition as one of the top rated programs in the nation. Mission's program was officially rated 35th in the nation based on several measurement indicators such as good patient outcomes, use of technology, nursing care, and trauma treatment.