Christiana Care is continually recognized for excellence on a regional and a national level. These are some of our recent awards.

Joint Commission Seal of Approval

Christiana Care Health Services received the Joint Commission's  Gold Seal of Approval, based on an unannounced on-site survey. The seal is proof of our organization-wide dedication to providing quality care for our neighbors.

Ernest A. Codman Award

In 2007, Christiana Care received the prestigious Ernest A. Codman Award , recognizing the dramatic improvements we made in recognizing and promptly treating serious sepsis infections. Christiana Care was one of only four among America's 7,569 hospitals to receive the award.

Best Hospital ranking from U.S. News & World Report

The news is out. Christiana Care is one of 'America's Best Hospitals ,' according to an elite list of 173 institutions named by U.S. News & World Report, which evaluated more than 5,400
hospitals. The only hospital in Delaware to make the list, Christiana Care is among the tops in three specialties: Ear, Nose & Throat, Endocrinology and Gastrointestinal Disorders.

Leadership in patient safety

The Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers  selected Christiana Care to be part of a national initiative to improve patient safety through graduate medical education. Qualifications were based on demonstrated leadership and regard for education and research in providing patient-centered care.

Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospital Performance Improvement Leader

For the second consecutive year, Christiana Care is a Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals  Performance Improvement Leader. Formerly Solucient, Thomson Reuters is a nationally known provider of health care information. This prestigious award places Christiana Care among the top 100 U.S. hospitals-and among the top 15 major teaching hospitals-for the fastest, most consistent performance improvement over five consecutive years.

Three Golden Apple Awards

Christiana Care received a trio of Golden Apple Awards from Quality Insights of Delaware , the state's only Medicare Quality Improvement Organization:

• Quality Leader Award for the Appropriate Care Measure program, which experienced a 15 percent improvement in treating patients hospitalized for heart attack, pneumonia and stroke.
• Quality Leader Award for the Surgical Care Improvement Project for a 13 percent improvement in preventing infections.
• Quality Partner Award to the Department of Family & Community Medicine for its outreach programs and cultural competency training.

Nursing research team honored

Seven nurses from Christiana Care and the University of Delaware received the Research Dissemination Award from the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing  for their important work in establishing guidelines for taking blood pressure. The nurses compared two blood pressure measurement sites, the forearm and the upper arm, in emergency and medical-surgical patients. Their studies concluded that upper-arm measurements are more accurate and that forearm measurements should only be taken when the upper arm is not accessible or the maximum-size cuff does not fit. The American Journal of Critical Care published their report 'Better Blood Pressure for Better Patient Care.'

News Journal 'Best in the Business'

For the fifth consecutive year, the News Journal  named Christiana Care a Best in the Business employer, an honor based on employee surveys from 107 companies. Christiana Care is one of only 15 large employers honored. Here's what some of the employees had to say in the survey:

• The company is going in the right direction.
• Company has strong values and ethics.
• I have opportunities to learn and grow.
• My manager praises my good work.
• I have the flexibility I need to balance work and personal life.

Consumer Choice Award

Based on a National Research Corporation  survey of 200,000 area households, Christiana Care has been the top choice of health care providers for 13 straight years.

A champion for families in need

Christiana Care received the 2008 Business Champion Award from the Delaware Covering Kids & Families  program for providing medical care to people who don't have insurance. The award is based on commitment to charity care, financial assistance and community mission.

Bariatric Surgery Center rates dual accreditation

Christiana Care's Bariatric Surgery program has received two stamps of approval, the only hospital in the greater Delaware Valley to be accredited by two professional programs. The American College of Surgeons' Bariatric Surgery Center Network awarded Christiana Care the highest level of accreditation, meaning the hospital is 'able to manage the most challenging and complex patients.' The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and Surgical Review Corporation  named Christiana Care a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence.

Readers' Choice Awards

Christiana Care was a double winner in the News Journal's 2008 Readers' Choice Awards. Readers chose Christiana Care as Best Hospital and Best Place to Have a Baby. Readers nominated their favorite businesses, restaurants and professional services they believed worthy of a Readers' Choice Award. To determine the winner in each category, the paper asked readers for a final vote for the top three businesses and restaurants in each category.