Awards & Certifications

Top 100 U.S. Rural & Community Hospitals

In February 2019, OSF HealthCare Saint James was named one of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the United States by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Regarded as one of the industry’s most significant designations of performance excellence, the annual award is based upon the results of the Hospital Strength INDEX® from iVantage Health Analytics. Only four hospitals in Illinois were named to this list in 2019. Top 100 facilities scored in the top 100 among all rural and community hospitals nationally.

The INDEX leverages 50 rural-relevant indicators across eight pillars of hospital strength (i.e. Inpatient Market Share, Outpatient Market Chare, Cost, Charge, Quality, Outcomes, Patient Perspective and Financial Stability) to determine an overall score for each hospital. Each of the INDEX’s 50 indicators is culled from publicly-available data sources.The list of Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals, as well as the 2019 INDEX methodology, can be found at www.ivantageindex.com/top-performing-hospitals.

American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR)

OSF HealthCare Saint James received certification of its Cardiac Rehabilitation program by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) in September of 2016. OSF HealthCare Saint James' Cardiac Rehabilitation program was recognized for its commitment to improving the quality of life by enhancing standards of care. Certified AACVPR programs are recognized as leaders in the field of cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation because they offer the most advanced practices available. AACVPR Program Certification is valid for three years.

In fall 2017, OSF HealthCare Saint James similarly received certification for its Pulmonary Rehabilitation program from American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR). Pulmonary rehabilitation programs are designed to help people with pulmonary problems (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, respiratory symptoms) recover faster and improve their quality of life. The program includes exercise, education, counseling and support for patients and their families. The certification is good for three years.

American College of Radiology (ACR)

In September of 2019, OSF HealthCare Saint James was awarded a three-year term of accreditation in mammography as the result of a review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Mammography is a specific type of imaging test that uses a low-dose x-ray system to examine breasts. A mammography exam, called a mammogram, is used to aid in the early detection and diagnosis of breast diseases in women.

OSF HealthCare Saint James was awarded a three-year term of accreditation in nuclear medicine as the result of a 2018 review by the ACR. Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material, ingested by the patient, to diagnose and treat a variety of disease, including many types of cancers, heart disease, and certain other abnormalities within the body.

In 2020, OSF HealthCare Saint James was awarded a three-year term of accreditation in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the result of a review by the ACR. MRI is a noninvasive medical test that utilizes magnetic fields to produce anatomical images of internal body parts to help physicians diagnose and tret medical conditions. OSF HealthCare Saint James installed a new fixed-siteMRI suite in 2014, following more than a decade of mobile MRI services on the campus.

The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field.

American Diabetes Association

OSF HealthCare Saint James was awarded the prestigious American Diabetes Association's Education Recognition Certificate in January 2019. The recognition is for a four-year period.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Distinction^® Center+ for Maternity Care

To help prospective parents find hospitals that deliver quality, affordable maternity care, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) awarded OSF HealthCare Saint James – John W. Albrecht Medical Center the Blue Distinction® Center+ for Maternity Care designation. designation in February 2018.

Blue Distinction^® hospitals meet requirements regarding evidence-based practices of care, programs to promote successful breastfeeding, overall patient satisfaction including a willingness to recommend the hospital to others, and achievements in cost efficiency. Information about OSF HealthCare Saint James' Family Birthing Center and maternity services can be found here.

Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC)

EMSC certified OSF Saint James as an Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics (EDAP), which is a three-year term, in 2015.

FOTO® Outcomes Excellence Certificate

In 2014, OSF Saint James - John W. Albrecht Medical Center Rehabilitation Services was awarded an Outcomes Excellence Certificate from Focus On Therapeutic Outcomes, Inc. (FOTO^®), a nationwide outcomes data base and reporting service for health care providers. For more information, visit the FOTO website.

HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Stage 6 Designation

In 2011, OSF Saint James achieved Stage 6 designation of the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Adoption Model. The Stage 6 designation means OSF Saint James has fully implemented physician documentation/charting in patient care service areas. The medical center has also implemented a full complement of PACS systems, which provide medical images to physicians via an intranet and displaces all film-based images.

IDPH Acute Stroke Ready Hospital (ASRH)

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) named OSF HealthCare Saint James - John W. Albrecht Medical Center an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital (ASRH) in May 2014 following the creation of stroke care systems in Illinois. This designation was renewed in 2018.

Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) Radiation Safety

In November 2019, the Medical Imaging Department received official notification that it passed the IEMA radiation safety inspection. This inspection focuses on compliance in all radiation producing areas except nuclear medicine. The inspector also conducts a detailed FDA review of all mammography policies and procedures to assure image quality.

Illinois Health Cares Coalition

The Illinois Health Cares Coalition granted OSF Saint James with the Illinois Health Cares Award of Excellence in June 2012.

Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC)

OSF HealthCare Saint James - John W. Albrecht Medical Center was granted a three-year term of accreditation in echocardiography in area of "adult transthoracic" by the IAC in August 2017.

Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL)

In July 2017, the Cardiology Department at OSF Saint James received a three-year Echocardiography Lab Accreditation from ICAEL.

The Joint Commission

Joint Commission accreditation is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization's commitment to meeting certain performance standards. To earn and maintain accreditation, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team at least every three years.

In December 2019, OSF HealthCare Saint James - John W. Albrecht Medical Center received the Joint Commission Accreditation - Gold Seal of Approval.

OSF HealthCare Saint James earned the Gold Seal of Approval for Pathology & Clinical Laboratory from Joint Commission in 2018. To earn and maintain laboratory accreditation, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team at least every two years.

Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed a set of research-based quality indicators that are used across the nation. They have established standardized measures of quality in selected patient populations including acute myocardial infarction (AMI), community acquired pneumonia (PN), congestive heart failure (HF), pregnancy and related conditions and surgical procedures. OSF Saint James is currently participating in AMI, PN and HF categories.

The Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Grade

The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 by the Business Roundtable and has support from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Leapfrog's mission is to trigger giant leaps forward in the safety, quality and affordability of health care by: supporting informed healthcare decisions by those who use and pay for health care; and, promoting high-value healthcare through incentives and rewards. For more information, visit the Leapfrog Group website.

OSF Saint James – John W. Albrecht Medical Center was honored with an “A” grade in the Spring 2017 Hospital Safety Grade, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries and infections.

Our sister hospital, OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, Illinois, also received an "A" on The Leapfrog Group's Hospital Safety Grade.

To see OSF Saint James compares nationally and locally to other hospitals, visit the Hospital Safety Grade website at www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.

Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award^®

In November 2017, OSF HealthCare Saint James was named a 2017 Guardian of Excellence Award^® winner by Press Ganey, the leading provider of patient experience measurement. The Guardian of Excellence Award^® recognizes top-performing health care organizations that have consistently achieved the 95^th percentile or above of performance in Clinical Quality.

Top Performer on Key Quality Measures^®

OSF Saint James was named Top Performer on Key Quality Measures^® by The Joint Commission in November of 2015. OSF Saint James was recognized by The Joint Commission for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions. OSF Saint James was recognized for its achievements on the Surgical Care measures.

Safest Hospital in Illinois

In a 2015 study by Consumer Reports, OSF Saint James – John W. Albrecht Medical Center was the highest rated hospital for safety in the state of Illinois. Consumer Reports considered how hospitals throughout the nation performed, including information from both surgical and nonsurgical patients, as well as ratings on other measures, such as readmissions, bloodstream infections and communication about drugs.

Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals

In 2017, Truven Health Analytics IBM Watson Health named OSF HealthCare Saint James - John W. Albrecht Medical Center to its 100 Top Hospitals list. Truven recognized the medical center for its focused teamwork and commitment to patients. The Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals study is the most comprehensive, academically driven study of its kind. It evaluates clinical and operational performance in 11 areas, addressing: inpatient mortality, 30-day mortality rate, complications, core measures, 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rate, severity-adjusted average length of stay, mean emergency room throughput, inpatient expense per discharge, Medicare spend per beneficiary, adjusted operating profit margin and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) score (patient rating of overall hospital performance). The study has been conducted annually since 1993.