SALINE, Mich. - For the third year in a row, St. Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital has been named one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals(r) by Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of health care. The winning hospitals were announced in the March 30 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine.

The award recognizes hospitals that have achieved excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety, patient satisfaction, financial performance, and operational efficiency.

'This is a prestigious award, with only 20 hospitals nation-wide named in the small community hospital category,' explains Kathleen Rhine, chief operating officer, St. Joseph Mercy Saline. 'It's an honor to be placed within the top 100 hospitals in the country, and we didn't get here without the true dedication of our entire staff.'

The winners were identified through an in-depth analysis, the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals(r): National Benchmarks study. The study evaluated 3,000 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals in nine areas: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, cash-to-debt ratio, patient satisfaction, and adherence to clinical standards of care.

'We know that achieving this level of excellence is a direct result of the remarkable people who work at our hospital, our team of great physicians, nurses, staff and volunteers,' says Barb Fielder, director of operations at St. Joseph Mercy Saline.

St. Mary Mercy Hospital Livonia, of Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, was also awarded the 100 Top Hospitals award in the large community hospital category. This is the third year for St. Mary Mercy to be named to this coveted list.