More than a decade ago, Mecosta County Medical Center created a vision: To be the most respected, quality health care provider in the region. Today, the 74-bed acute-care hospital is being recognized nationally for its hard work toward achieving this vision.

For the second year in a row, MCMC was named one of the Top 100 Hospitals in America by Thomsen Corporation and Modern Healthcare magazine. Performance measures used to select winners for both 2005 and 2006 include: patient outcomes; patient safety; adherence to national treatment standards for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia; efficiency; financial stability; and growth in the number of patients seeking inpatient, outpatient and emergency services.

While 100 hospitals are selected each year, only 20 are selected in the Small Community Hospital category, making MCMC one of the top 20 Hospitals nationally in this size designation.

This award is the result of the synergy created by the combined efforts of our MCMC employees, trustees, county commissioners, the medical staff and our entire community. We are proud to continue our high level of service to this community and humbled to receive this award again. We have an exceptional staff, and this is a great testament to their hard work and commitment to the patients we serve.

MCMC’s dedication to the highest standards of care has been noticed by others as well. It was named a 2006 CareScience Select Practice National Quality Leader in the category of pneumonia. In addition, it previously received the prestigious Governor’s Award of Excellence for Improving Care in both the hospital and the emergency department. The Governor’s Award of Excellence is sponsored by the governor in concert with MPRO, Michigan’s Physician Peer Review and Medicare Quality Improvement Organization.

Serving the hospital constituency; MCMC is an integral part of the community. Providing “advanced health care with a personal touch” to local residents has been the hallmark of MCMC since its establishment in 1879.

Recently, MCMC completed an $11 million, 42,000-square-feet renovation and expansion project supported by Mecosta County voters. This ER/OR project, which improves MCMC’s emergency, laboratory, surgery and registration departments, was designed to meet increased demand for emergency and outpatient services, and to offer a new level of comfort and convenience, while protecting patient privacy and confidentiality.

Most recently, MCMC became the first hospital in Michigan to partner with InstyMeds, an electronic retail pharmacy where patients can purchase basic, acute-care drugs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year from a machine located in the ER waiting room.

The goal is to assist patients in getting their medication in a timely and effective manner. Approximately 22,000 people visit the MCMC emergency department each year and they can now utilize this new patient convenience.

We’re providing another option for the patients we serve after hours. It’s just one more example of providing “advanced care with a personal touch.”