Accreditation and Awards

Our cancer program is accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.

Accreditation means we meet or exceed the Commission's standards in areas, such as:

• Clinical management
• Access to clinical trials and research
• Community outreach
• Patient care and outcomes

As a patient, you receive:

• Complete cancer care with state-of-the-art equipment and services
• Treatment options coordinated by medical staff from several specialty departments, including Mayo Clinic services and physicians
• Access to clinical trials
• Cancer education and support services
• Quality care close to home with Mayo Clinic expertise

View our annual report.

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program recognized Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire in November 2021 for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care.

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program commends a select group of hospitals for achieving a meritorious composite score in either an “All Cases” category or a category which includes only “High Risk” cases. Each composite score was determined through a different weighted formula combining eight outcomes.

Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire was recognized on the “All Cases” list. Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse was recognized on the “High Risk” list. Mayo Clinic Hospitals in Rochester also received recognition on the “All Cases” and “High Risk” lists.

We achieved this distinction based on outstanding composite quality scores in these eight areas:

1. Mortality
2. Unplanned intubation
3. Ventilator greater than 48 hours
4. Renal failure
5. Cardiac incidents (cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction, also known as heart attack)
6. Respiratory (pneumonia)
7. Surgical site infections
8. Urinary tract infections

This recognition acknowledges the effort that every member of our surgery teams puts into delivering the best and safest care possible to our patients. We are pleased to be able to bring this level of surgical care to the people of Northwest Wisconsin.

These emergency ultrasound programs meet the standards developed by the Clinical Ultrasound Accreditation Program of the American College of Emergency Physicians:

• Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire
• Mayo Clinic Health System – Chippewa Valley in Bloomer
• Mayo Clinic Health System – Northland in Barron
• Mayo Clinic Health System – Oakridge in Osseo
• Mayo Clinic Health System – Red Cedar in Menomonie

The facilities provide point-of-care ultrasound in the Emergency Department to assist physicians in providing excellent care to their patients. The emergency physicians can utilize ultrasound to safely guide them during complicated procedures and to expedite the correct diagnosis in life-threatening conditions such as abdominal aneurysms, ectopic pregnancies and internal bleeding. These diagnoses can be made in minutes ultimately resulting in faster treatment.

To achieve this accreditation, the emergency physicians at these locations had to provide extensive documentation of their training and quality assurance measures. These were then reviewed by a national board of experts in emergency ultrasound. Accreditation by the Clinical Ultrasound Accreditation Program is given to programs that meet the high standards established by the American College of Emergency Physicians.

In 2021, Mayo Clinic Health System in Northwest Wisconsin was designated as an Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

The gold level Award of Hope from the University of Wisconsin Organ and Tissue Donation recognizes the comprehensive work of hospitals that achieve or exceed the goals of consent conversations with potential donors and donor families, and the clinical expertise in providing the best possible outcome for each organ.

The bariatric surgery program in Eau Claire received re-accreditation as a low acuity center with the Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP).

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) combined their respective national bariatric surgery accreditation programs into a single unified program to achieve one national accreditation standard for bariatric surgery centers: the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP).

MBSAQIP works to advance safe, high-quality care for bariatric surgical patients through the accreditation of bariatric surgical centers. A bariatric surgical center achieves accreditation following a rigorous review process during which it proves that it can maintain certain physical resources, human resources, and standards of practice. All accredited centers report their outcomes to the MBSAQIP database.

Newsweek recently included Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire in its annual list of the best maternity hospitals in the U.S. The listing features 217 hospitals in 36 states. The organizations listed showed low rates of C-section, episiotomy and early elective deliveries.

The HERS Breast Center at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire is accredited as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the Commission on Quality and Safety and the Commission on Breast Imaging of the American College of Radiology. This means HERS has undergone a rigorous review process and meets nationally accepted standards of care. Accreditation by the ACR demonstrates a commitment to quality care and patient safety.

Each three-year accreditation includes mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy and breast ultrasound.

The Joint Commission has recertified the Primary Stroke Program at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire following an August 2021 on-site survey by a certification team.

Offered in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association achieving Primary Stroke Center (PSC) Certification means we're making exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes. The quality of care we provide meets the unique and specialized needs of stroke patients.

The Pathology laboratory at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire is the first in Wisconsin to have earned an advanced-level accreditation from the College of American Pathologists. Only 27 laboratories worldwide have secured the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 15189, accreditation through the College of American Pathologists.

To earn ISO 15189 accreditation, laboratories must have established policies and protocols that check for errors or substandard performances, while also training staff in process improvement techniques to continuously improve performance and accuracy. ISO 15189 accreditation is voluntary in the U.S.

"This is a great honor for our staff and our lab," says Pathology director Randy Harelstad. "We worked for about three years to attain this certification and ensure that our processes were producing the best and most accurate results for our patients."

Pathology lab technicians process and examine blood, tissue and other medical specimens taken from patients to look for irregularities or other indications of disease. The Pathology lab at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire reviews more than 1 million specimens a year.

The Eau Claire Mayo Family Medicine Residency Program has been ranked No. 1 in Wisconsin and No. 6 in the nation on Doximity's 2021 Residency Navigator.

Program ranking is determined by three factors:

1. Current resident and recent alumni satisfaction.
2. Reputation among board-certified family physicians.
3. Objective data, including research output.

The Doximity Residency Navigator, which includes 4,900 residency programs across 28 specialties, including over 700 programs in Family Medicine alone, is used by over 90% of graduating medical students to select the program that best meets their training needs.

In 2022, Mayo Clinic Health System in Northwest Wisconsin achieved AANEM Electrodiagnostic Laboratory Accreditation with Exemplary status from the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM).

This accreditation demonstrates Mayo Clinic Health System demonstrates clinical excellence in electrodiagnostic medicine to patients, referral sources and payers, and confirms the laboratory’s commitment to providing the highest quality health care.

Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire was one of four health care organizations nationwide in its size category to be recognized by a national health care network for its clinical care. VHA Inc., a network of more than 5,100 not-for-profit health care organizations, presented Mayo Clinic Health System with its Excellence Award for Clinical Care.

To determine the winners, VHA used cost, length of stay, readmission and clinical outcome data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to establish an integrated performance score for each of its member hospitals. In addition to scoring above the 90th percentile, as compared to other VHA members, the hospital also must have participated in a VHA improvement program in 2013.

“We are pleased to be honored by VHA and are thankful for having this and similar partnerships as we explore more efficient and effective ways to make high quality and affordable care available to patients,” says Deborah Fischer, vice president of quality and organizational improvement at Mayo Clinic Health System.

Mayo Clinic Health System was recognized in the category of acute care hospitals with fewer than 250 beds. Other award recipients within this category included Fort Loudoun Medical Center in Lenoir City, Tennessee; Memorial Hospital and Health Center in Jasper, Indiana; and Penn Highlands DuBois in DuBois, Pennsylvania.

“Hospitals today are focused on improving clinical outcomes, making operations more cost effective and enhancing the patient’s experience,” says Byron Jobe, VHA executive vice president, service and delivery. “VHA’s Clinical Care Award honors institutions who are succeeding in those areas and that are diligently working to identify areas for improvement to deliver even better results and lower costs for the communities they serve. Their spirit and commitment to continuous improvement reflects VHA’s mission, and we are proud to recognize Mayo Clinic Health System’s achievements.”

Twice each year, The Leapfrog Group assigns hospital safety grades to 2,600 acute-care hospitals across the nation. Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire has earned the top grade of an “A.” in 2021.

The hospital safety grade provides patients a single measure that represents our overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable errors, injuries, accidents and infections. Our critical-access hospitals in Barron, Bloomer, Menomonie and Osseo did not have a sufficient number of measures to calculate a hospital safety grade.

Eau Claire is accredited by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers as a level 3 epilepsy center. Level 3 epilepsy centers have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest level medical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy.

Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire is the only verified trauma center in northwest Wisconsin. By maintaining Level II verification from the American College of Surgeons, the toughest trauma credentialing agency in the world, we provide the highest level of trauma care available in the region. This is a voluntary and extensive process that demonstrates commitment to injured patients, injury prevention and public and staff education.

As a Level II trauma center, Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire has 24-hour, seven-day-a-week coverage by trauma surgeons, orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons, and specialists in emergency medicine, anesthesiology, ear, nose and throat, radiology, thoracic surgery and critical care. In addition, the trauma team consists of a large group of health care providers, including nurses specially trained in trauma, therapists, chaplains and other specialists.

2022 Excellence in Tissue Donation Award

This award is given to partner hospitals who achieved at least a 60% consent rate. This metric measures the collaborative work between the hospital staff and tissue bank in coordinating communication around tissue consent conversations.

2022 Award of Hope bronze-level recognition

The Award of Hope recognizes the comprehensive work of hospitals that achieve or exceed the goals of consent conversations with potential donors and donor families, and the clinical expertise in providing the best possible outcome for each organ.

Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award — the highest award possible. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. The award was earned by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a period of two years.

Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire also has met specific scientific guidelines as a Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center, featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the Emergency Department.

The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits health care organizations and programs in the U.S.

The Joint Commission standards set performance expectations that affect the safety and quality of patient care. Its accreditation process evaluates an organization's compliance with these standards and other accreditation requirements.

See the accreditation report for Mayo Clinic Health System – Eau Claire Hospital in Wisconsin.

You also may contact The Joint Commission for patient safety concerns, or you can write to:

The Joint Commission
Office of Quality and Patient Safety
The Joint Commission
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Fax: 630-792-5636

Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire was named the No. 4 hospital in Wisconsin and recognized as a "Best Regional Hospital" in northwestern Wisconsin by U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 annual list of top hospitals.

Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire was nationally ranked as high-performing in the specialties of Pulmonology and Lung Surgery and rated high-performing in these adult procedures and conditions:

• Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
• Aortic Valve Surgery
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Colon Cancer Surgery
• Heart Attack
• Heart Bypass Surgery
• Heart Failure
• Hip Fracture
• Hip Replacement
• Kidney Failure
• Knee Replacement
• Pneumonia
• Stroke

In the U.S. News & World Report rankings of top hospitals, Mayo Clinic is the No.1 hospital overall and No.1 in more specialties than any other hospital in the nation.