Mercy Medical Center-Sioux City has earned a place among the nation's best hospitals for clinical excellence.

During the last decade, the Sioux City region's busiest hospital has been the recipient of national honors in several different clinical areas, and is now well known for a long series of progressive medical firsts in the region.

Bob Peebles, Mercy's president and chief executive officer, credits the hospital's associates, highly skilled physicians, volunteers, and its Faith-based foundation for Mercy's success as the leading provider of health care in Siouxland. "Mercy is dedicated to Faith-Inspired Service and Healing," he explained. "We strive to become Siouxland residents' most trusted health partner for life by staying true to the mission and values of our founders, Sister Catherine McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy. Within that context, Mercy associates, our board of directors, and our physician partners also demonstrate great vision and determination in tapping the latest innovations and advances in medicine. As a result, we have been blessed to realize many accomplishments and honors."

2012 in Review

During 2012, Mercy's reputation as a provider of world-class health care became even more prominent.

Healthgrades, the nation’s leading independent health care ratings company, recognized Mercy for several areas of excellence, and Mercy swept the ratings in 2012 in HealthGrades Cardiac category.

Nationally, Mercy Sioux City ranked among the Top 10% in the Nation for Overall Cardiac Services, Cardiology Services and Coronary Interventional Procedures.  Mercy Sioux City was honored to be a recipient of the HealthGrades Cardiac Care Excellence Award for 2012, and the HealthGrades Coronary Intervention Excellence Award for 2012.

Statewide, Mercy Sioux City was ranked #1 in Iowa for Overall Cardiac Services, Cardiology Services, and #2 in Iowa for Coronary Interventional Procedures.  Mercy Sioux City has been ranked Among the Top 10 in Iowa for Overall Cardiac Services for 10 years in a row (2003-2012), Among the Top 10 in Iowa for Cardiology Services for 8 years in a row (2005 – 2012) and Among the Top 5 In Iowa for Coronary Interventional Procedures for 8 years in a row (2005 – 2012)

Mercy Medical Center—Sioux City achieved HealthGrade's highest ranking - five stars - for Cardiac Services in 2012, Coronary Intervention for 8 years in a row (2005 – 2012), for Treatment of Heart Attack in 2012 and for Treatment of Heart Failure for 2 years in a row (2011-2012).

Mercy Sioux City also had excellent ratings with HealthGrades in the treatment of Stroke.  Mercy Sioux City is among the Top 10% in the Nation for Stroke for the second consecutive year in a row, as well as the recipient of the HealthGrades Stroke Care Excellence Award for 2 years in a row (2011 – 2012).  Mercy Sioux City has been Five Star Rated for Treatment of Stroke for 4 years in a row (2009 – 2012) and is ranked in 2012 as #2 in Iowa for Treatment of Stroke.

Mercy Sioux City was ranked among the Top 10% in the Nation for Neurosciences and for Neurosurgery in 2012 and ranked #1 in Iowa in both categories.  Mercy received the HealthGrades Neurosciences Excellence Award in 2012 and Neurosurgery Excellence Award in 2012.  HealthGrades also gave Mercy Sioux City a Five-Star rating in the treatment of sepsis.

Early in 2012, Mercy began its digital mammography service at the downtown campus.  The availability of this new service was made possible by a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.  Mercy Medical Center now provides digital mammography services at two locations – the Mercy Breast Care Center in Dakota Dunes and the Mercy Medical Center main campus.

The Mercy Heart Center kicked off Heart Month in February with a Heart Expo.  Over 500 Siouxlanders attended this free event, which featured free screenings, cooking demonstrations, an open-heart surgery demonstration, and much more. 

Dr. Ramin Artang, F.A.C.C., a cardiologist with Mercy Cardiology was a presenter at the annual conference of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago.  Dr. Artang was the principal investigator for a study entitled: Dabigatran and Myocardial Infarction, Drug or Class Effect: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials with Oral Direct Thrombin Inhibitors.

Carla Granstrom, 39-year employee at Mercy Medical Center was named to the list of the Top 100 nurses in the state of Iowa.  The Top 100 Great Iowa Nurses program annually recognizes 100 outstanding nurses whose courage, competence and commitments to patients and the nursing profession stand out above all others.  The Iowa Nurses Foundation launched the recognition program in 2005 and since that time, Mercy Medical Center has always had one of its nurses earn this special designation.

In June, Mercy Medical Center was notified that the Department of Laboratory Services had been nominated for Best of 2012 Clinical Lab Facilities.  Best of 2012 Clinical Lab Facilities is a special recognition program within the clinical lab industry and is sponsored by CLP (Clinical Lab Products) Magazine.   Medical laboratories are nominated by their peers, and selected by a panel of industry experts.  Selection for this honor is based on how well the lab redefines the industry’s best practices to provide the best quality service to clinicians and patients.  Mercy’s Department of Laboratory Services was listed in the August 2012 issue of CLP Magazine. CLP is a magazine that focuses exclusively on products and technology for the clinical lab industry and reaches a nationwide audience of over 42,000 clinical lab professionals.

Also in June, Mercy Medical Center and the Medical Staff Executive Committee announced Mercy had been resurveyed by the Iowa Medical Society (IMS) Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and awarded the CME status for four years as a provider of continuing medical education for physicians.  IMS employs a rigorous, multilevel process for evaluating institutions’ continuing medical education programs according to the high accreditation standards adopted by the American Board of Medical Specialties; the American Hospital Association; the American Medical Association; the Association for Hospital Medical Education; the Association of American Medical Colleges; the Council of Medical Specialty Societies; and the Federation of State Medical Boards of the U.S., Inc.  Mercy’s medical staff has one of the longest accredited programs in Iowa and is the only accredited provider of CME activities for physicians in Northwest Iowa.  The program has been accredited continuously since 1981 and is under the direction of the medical staff’s CME Committee.

Mercy joined a new alliance, University of Iowa Health Alliance (UIHA), which includes over 50 hospitals and more than 160 clinics. The members of the alliance work together to advance the high quality of health care services, to improve the health status of patients and communities, and to achieve efficiencies that will help member organizations reduce the rising cost of care for their patients.  The four entities involved are: Mercy Health Network, of which Mercy Sioux City is a part, Genesis Health System, Mercy Cedar Rapids, and the University of Iowa Healthcare.  Members describe the arrangement as the “best of both worlds,” allowing each organization to maintain its legacy and independence, while promoting clinical integration and care coordination.

The Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at Mercy was awarded recertification by The American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR).  This recertification is good for three years, and followed a rigorous review that verified the program’s excellent clinical practices.

Mercy Medical Center was awarded the Environmental Excellence Award from Sterilmed Inc., honoring Mercy as a Best Practice facility for its superior accomplishments in reducing environmental impact and improving overall health care sustainability through medical device recycling.

Mercy Breast Care Center at Dakota Dunes was awarded a three-year term of reaccreditation in mammography by the American College of Radiology (ACR).  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.

Mercy finished 2012 by dedicating its new state-of-the-art operating room designed specifically to accommodate the growing demand for robotic procedures.   The new 625 square foot surgery suite is nearly four times the size of the previous surgical suite and Siouxland area physicians are ecstatic with the new room.  The robotic suite features a fully integrated monitoring system, touch screen physician-friendly technology, new equipment and anesthesia booms and an innovative lighting system that is the first of its kind in this area.