Essentia Health-Holy Trinity Hospital recognized by Vizient for excellence in delivering high-quality care

Essentia Health-Holy Trinity Hospital in Graceville is proud to announce that it has been recognized as one of only 13 Critical Access Hospitals nationwide to receive a 2025 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award from Vizient.

This prestigious honor highlights the hospital's excellence in patient safety, mortality outcomes, effectiveness, efficiency, patient-centeredness and care variation. It also underscores Essentia Health-Holy Trinity Hospital's commitment to delivering exceptional health care to rural communities in west central Minnesota and eastern North Dakota.

"This award is a testament to the extraordinary work of our entire team," said Deb Stueve, administrator of Essentia Health-Holy Trinity Hospital. "Every day, our staff demonstrates an unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety, well-being and satisfaction of our patients. Being recognized by Vizient is an incredible honor and validates our mission to provide exceptional care to the communities we serve."

This year, 1,220 participating hospitals were segmented into seven categories for the Vizient Quality and Accountability Study. The study measures performance on the quality of patient care, which is based on data from several national databases.

The study helps participating hospitals and health systems understand their performance against their peers and identifies structures and processes associated with high performance in quality and safety across a broad spectrum of patient care activity. The recognition period is for work spanning July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.

"These organizations have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to delivering safe, effective and patient-centered care," said David Levine, chief medical officer, Vizient. "Their performance reflects the highest standards in clinical quality and operational excellence, and we are proud to honor their achievements."

In addition to being a Critical Access Hospital, Essentia Health-Holy Trinity Hospital is part of Minnesota's trauma system as a Level IV. On average, trauma claims the lives of 4,300 Minnesotans annually. States with trauma systems have seen survival rates increase by 15-20%. Wide-scale participation in the voluntary trauma system ensures that a statewide, cooperative effort is in place to care for seriously injured patients.