At Cass County Health System (CCHS), we have a lofty vision of being the best rural hospital in the country.  We work diligently together to live out our mission of providing a superior experience to everyone we are privileged to serve.  CCHS is celebrating National Hospital Week May 12-18.  We’ll be celebrating with our staff all week, and this is also a great opportunity to celebrate with our community.

We have many things to celebrate and other across the country have taken notice.  Through a concentrated team effort and an organization wide commitment to quality, outcomes, and patient safety, CCHS was recognized for Performance Leadership Award the past two years. We were also nationally ranked as one of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the country in 2017 and again in 2018.  Our staff has rated CCHS a Top Workplace in Iowa according to the Des Moines Register poll for each of the past 4 years. Our emergency care team received a 2018 national award for being in the top 10% of emergency departments in country for hospitals under 100 beds.  Because quality, safety, trust,and loyalty are foundational to the culture at CCHS, these national recognitions are affirming for our team members, patients, and the communities we serve.  The awards also underscore that while we are not perfect, we strive for perfection every day and are moving in the right direction.

Over the past 2 years we have recruited 17 additional physicians and advanced practice professionals to meet out goal of providing greater access to care at CCHS.  A few of the specialists recruited include: orthopedic surgeon, neurologist, vascular surgeon, oncologist, two neurosurgeons, cardiologist, urogynecologist, and additional family practice providers.  We are currently working on innovative care utilizing telemedicine technology so that we can offer some of the hardest to get specialties locally, including endocrinology beginning around July 1st.

Our strength today builds upon our heritage over the past 50 years, and the commitment and dedication of our outstanding staff.  As we look forward to the rest of 2019 and the years ahead, we know there will be many more opportunities to bring exceptional health care to even more patients in Cass County and beyond.  We are actively engaged in this work, and know that we could not do it without the overwhelming support of the communities we serve.

A superior experience for our community means that we’re here for our community – where it’s in times of disaster, or that we’re a frequent sponsor and participant of community events. We’re proud to be a major engine for economic development and growth for our community.  Our economic impact on the county is impressive – read more about that in the insert in today's paper..

In the end, the legacy we leave is really about people and relationships – Neighbors Caring for Neighbors.  CCHS employs 375 individuals. As we traditionally done in celebration of hospital week, we are again sharing personal stories about five of those staff members this week, and we hope you enjoy getting to know a few of your neighbors.