Last Updated on August 20, 2024 2:18 pm
Charles A. Cannon, Jr. Memorial Hospital has been recognized by the Lown Institute for excellence in patient outcomes, receiving an “A” grade on the 2024-25 Lown Institute Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility. Cannon Memorial Hospital achieved this honor through strong performance across metrics of patient safety, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction, out of more than 3,600 hospitals nationwide.
The hospital ranked #1 for Patient Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction in North Carolina and in the top 10 nationally on Lown’s patient outcomes metric. The hospital also performed well on Lown’s category and category metrics. These are independent rankings and hospitals do not apply or pay to be listed.
“Cannon Memorial Hospital has a long history of commitment to high quality care in service to our community. Our hospital's employees work diligently to provide positive patient experiences and clinical outcomes each day. We are certainly honored to receive this national recognition but are more honored to have the ongoing opportunity to serve our community meaningfully,” said Stephanie Greer, President, Avery Healthcare Market.
“Achieving excellent patient outcomes requires leadership, communication, and a commitment to keep improving,” said Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute. “It’s a difficult task, but the hospitals at the top of our list show that it can be done.”
Lown’s patient outcomes score reflects hospitals’ performance on all-cause mortality and readmissions, avoidance of adverse events such as falls and hospital-acquired infections, and patient experience metrics such as cleanliness and provider communication. Data sources are Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage claims, CMS patient safety data, and CMS patient experience survey data.
The Lown Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility is the only ranking to combine metrics of health equity and value of care alongside patient outcomes, for more than 2,700 acute care and 800 critical access hospitals nationwide—offering a holistic view of hospitals as total community partners. In the fifth annual rankings, the 2024-25 Lown Index evaluates hospitals on over 50 measures including novel metrics such as community benefit, racial inclusivity, and avoidance of overuse. Data sources include Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage claims, CMS patient safety data and hospital cost reports, and IRS 990 forms, among others. Full methodology can be found on the Lown Index website.
The Lown Institute is an independent think tank advocating bold ideas for a just and caring system for health. Learn more at www.LownHospitalsIndex.org.
About Charles A. Cannon, Jr. Memorial Hospital
UNC Health Appalachian’s Charles A. Cannon, Jr. Memorial Hospital is an acute care hospital with a full-service emergency department, imaging department, laboratory, outpatient behavioral health, and The Rehabilitation Center’s physical and occupational therapies.
Conveniently located in Linville, the center point of Avery County, Cannon is fully accredited by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Cannon Memorial Hospital was designated as a Critical Access Hospital in December 2005 to ensure long term operational and financial viability and to better extend services to the local community. For additional information, visit https://apprhs.org/cannon/
