Awards & Accreditations

Clinton Memorial Hospital received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit group that sets standards for excellence in patient safety and care. This grade represents the seventh “A” earned by Clinton Memorial Hospital in the last 10 Leapfrog grading periods. Clinton Memorial was one of 19 hospitals in Wisconsin to earn the top grade in Leapfrog’s Fall 2024 ratings release.

Leapfrog assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm. Only 32% of the approximately 3,000 hospitals reviewed nationwide earn Leapfrog’s “A” grade.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade stands as the only hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries.

Clinton Memorial Hospital’s (WRMC) joint replacement program is honored to be part of an elite group of hospitals nationwide, earning the 2025 Joint Replacement Excellence Award from Healthgrades.

Specialty Excellence Awards, like the one given to Clinton Memorial Hospital for joint replacement are awarded when five-stars are received for a specific procedure or condition. The full list of recipients can be found on Healthgrades’ website.

This award recognizes superior clinical outcomes based on Medicare data. Clinton Memorial Hospital recently expanded its orthopedic services through a partnership with the Orthopedic & Spine Centers of Wisconsin (OSCW). This partnership brings board-certified and fellowship-trained physicians in the following areas:

• Joint Replacement
• Sports Medicine
• Hand & Elbow
• Foot & Ankle
• Spine

Clinton Memorial Hospital was one of 100 hospitals included in the 2024 Becker’s Hospital Review listing of “Great Community Hospitals”. Clinton Memorial was one of only seven hospitals from Wisconsin to make the list. This is the second consecutive year that Watertown was included.

Per Becker’s website, hospitals selected for the listing are recognized for “bringing clinical and academic excellence, personalized and holistic care, and overall improved health to their communities.” The publication’s editorial team picked the hospitals based on several outside rankings and ratings organizations, including U.S. News & World Report, Healthgrades, CMS, The Leapfrog Group, the National Rural Health Association, and The Chartis Center for Rural Health.

WRMC has a legacy of bringing needed technology and quality care to its community, including several recent initiatives:

• in April 2023, WRMC opened its newly renovated cardiac catheterization lab, the first of it’s kind in Wisconsin, which is equipped with state-of-the-art technology;
• in December of 2022, it began offering the VELYS™ Robotic-Assisted Solution, the latest advancement that helps orthopedic surgeons perform knee replacement surgery tailored to each patient and their quick recovery;
• in April 2022, Watertown added eICU technology, allowing critical care doctors to video chat with patients, family, nurses, and fellow doctors, giving them secure access to assist in the care of critically ill patients;
• in 2021, the hospital opened a fully renovated rehabilitation space offering physical, occupational, and speech therapy; and
• in 2018, WRMC opened a 15-bed, Senior Behavioral Health Center offering inpatient services to patients 55 and older facing acute mental and behavioral health symptoms (one of a handful of facilities of its kind in the state).

Clinton Memorial Hospital recently announced it has been recognized as a 2024 Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital. This is the second consecutive year Clinton Memorial Hospital has been named to this list and the third time in a five-year span.

Hospitals are rated in the Chartis rankings using publicly available data sets and scored across eight performance pillars. According to the Chartis website, “these top performers are excelling in managing risk, achieving higher quality, securing better outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction, and operating at a lower cost than their peers.”

Tactics employed by Clinton Memorial Hospital to help achieve high-quality and safe patient care include:

• Recruiting, training, and retaining the very best providers, nurses, and support staff.
• Utilizing best practices around infection control and harms and readmission protocols.
• Forming a dedicated quality and education team to monitor and ensure best practices are being met.
• Promoting a culture focused on improvement.
• Requiring board-certification for physicians.

For the second consecutive year, Clinton Memorial Hospital (WRMC) has been named a dual recipient of Healthgrades’ prestigious hospital recognitions, the 2024 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ and the 2024 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™.

The dual-recipient distinction places Clinton Memorial among the top 79 ‒ or top 2% ‒ of the short-term, acute-care hospitals nationwide evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers.

Healthgrades’ analysis revealed that patients treated at recipient hospitals such as Clinton Memorial are less likely to experience the following safety events than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals:

• In-hospital fall resulting in fracture (approximately 52% less likely)
• Collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest (approximately 56% less likely)
• Pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital (approximately 67% less likely)
• Catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital (approximately 71% less likely)

U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice, has named Clinton Memorial Hospital to its 2024 High Performing hospital list for Maternity Care. This is the highest award a hospital can earn from U.S. News for maternity care.

Best Hospitals for Maternity Care is an annual evaluation designed to assist expectant parents, in consultation with their prenatal care team, in making informed decisions about where to receive maternity care that best meets their family’s needs. Expectant parents who choose hospitals on this list can rest easy knowing they are receiving high-quality care.

Among other measures, the U.S. News Best Hospitals for Maternity Care methodology is based entirely on objective measures of quality, including:

• C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies
• Newborn complication rates
• Exclusive breast milk feeding rates
• Early elective delivery rates
• Birthing-friendly practices
• Transparency on racial/ethnic disparities

Clinton Memorial Hospital received Chest Pain Center accreditation from the American College of Cardiology. We are dedicated to providing our patients with the best heart care treatment available. As an accredited facility, we use the newest methods and best practices in heart care to ensure that our patients receive:

• Right care at the right time to minimize or eliminate heart damage due to heart attack
• Timely and accurate diagnoses to reduce the disruption to your life and get you back home as soon as possible 
• Help and communication to better understand how to respond to your heart emergencies 
• Improved quality of life after a heart episode