Healthcare Thrives

The Madison Region enjoys a significant competitive advantage in the healthcare industry with our nationally-recognized providers in both community-focused healthcare organizations and academic and research organizations. As a sample of our superior healthcare organizations, we are served by:

• Mercy Health Systems, based in Rock County, which achieved the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Read Mercy Health System's story here.

• Meriter Hospital, based in Dane County, earned the Forward Award Governor's Award of Excellence, the highest level possible, as well as being named a Thomson 100 Top Hospitals Performance Improvement Leader.
Its cardiac program has been recognized for clinical excellence by both VHA and the American Heart Association.

• Monroe Clinic, based in Green County, which has been named one of the Top 100 Hospitals in the country by Solucient.


• St. Clare Hospital & Health Services, based in Sauk County, part of SSM Health Care, which achieved the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.


• St. Mary's Hospital, based in Dane County, which achieved the Magnet Recognition for Nursing Excellence, in addition to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award as part of SSM Health Care.


• The nationally-renowned University of Wisconsin Hospital, based in Dane County, which achieved a multitude of top hospital awards from organizations such as Leapfrog, Solucient for three years straight, Thomson for the fourth time, and most recently from U.S. News & World Report.
• GHC of South Central WI, Unity Health Plan, and Dean Health Plan are all rated in the top 50 health plans in the nation for 2008 based on U.S. News & World Report. GHC of SCW remained at number 8 in the country for the second year in a row; Unity moved up to number 24 in the country; and Dean Health Plan is in the top 50 for the second time in three years at number 40.

This quality of care creates a competitive advantage in recruiting talent to and retaining talent in the region. It is also obviously one of the pillars of the quality of life as well.

Demand for healthcare services will continue to increase as our population grows and as we live longer. The technology behind the healthcare enables treatment that previously was considered unimaginable. These advances allow us to prevent, diagnose, and manage health and illness better than we have been able to before, but they are creating challenges for society and the healthcare industry itself. Healthcare organizations need an ever increasing workforce with ever increasing skills. Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development projects an employment increase of 3.9% for the healthcare sector in a span of just two years, which is over twice the rate of the increase for all industries combined.

Collaboration efforts to address these challenges are gaining steam, as exemplified by the Healthcare Leadership Collaborative's regional initiative to improve workforce wellness. Another example is the WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) Initiative. The South Central - Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Boards are partnering with major healthcare providers and educational institutions in the region to shape targeted education programs. These programs benefit students and incumbent workers by teaching them new and immediately applicable skills; benefit the healthcare organizations by creating immediately employable workers for positions with the greatest need; and ultimately benefit society by facilitating the success of a core and growth industry sector which significantly impacts our everyday lives.

With the Madison Region's unique advantages in world-class and community-focused healthcare institutions, collaborative efforts such as this will flourish and multiply.

Thrive's annual Healthcare Sector Snapshot is now available. This four-page snapshot provides a review of Thrive's work to connect healthcare leadership to enhance the competitive advantage this sector provides the region. The snapshot also discusses the economic impact of healthcare in the region, jobs and wages in healthcare, healthcare successes and opportunities for the region.

Career opportunities abound in healthcare, at all ranges of educational preparation.

Download Healthcare Sector Snapshot
-Recommend printing as a four page "booklet" on 11x17 paper

The County Health Rankings show us that where we live matters to our health. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is collaborating with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute to develop these Rankings for each state's counties. This model has been used to rank the health of counties in Wisconsin for the past six years. The health of a community depends on many different factors ranging from individual health behaviors, education and jobs, to quality of health care, to the environment. This helps community leaders see that where we live, learn, work, and play influences how healthy we are and how long we live. Visit County Health Rankings

In collaboration and agreement with healthcare sector leaders, Thrive established the definition below for the healthcare sector:

Construction is underway in Janesville for this 50 bed hospital and adjacent physician's office. The hospital will be part of SSM Health Care of Wisconsin, parent company of St. Mary's Hospital in Madison and St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo.

"In this region, we're leaders in innovation and delivery. Because of our commitment to collaboration, I believe we're very well-positioned to be national leaders in creating a healthcare system that's accessible to all."
--Dr. Frank Byrne, President, St. Mary's Hospital

Three local health plans have been ranked in the top 50 health plans in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s annual listing. GHC of South Central Wisconsin is one of the top ten health plans in the country for the second year in a row at number 8. Unity Health Plan moved up significantly to number 24 in the country from their number 44 ranking in 2007 and Dean Health Plan is in the top 50 for the second time in three years at number 40.

The Baraboo Family Medicine Residency Program just received a 5 year accreditation/certification by the American Council on Graduate Medical Education, marking it one of only 30 rural training tracks nationally.

UW Hospitals and Clinics and Mercy Health Systems have been recognized by Working Mother magazine as two of the best places to work in the country.

The University HealthSystem Consortium recently named UW Hospitals and Clinics one of the top five best-performing teaching hospitals in the country.

U.S. News & World Report recently ranked UW Hospitals and Clinics among the top hospitals in America in four specialties.

Mercy Health System, based in Janesville, was recently ranked 11th in a list of the top 100 integrated health networks.

Read the full story

Mapping
Click the links below to view more maps demonstrating the type and distribution of healthcare establishments in the region as well as workforce mapping.

Maps courtesy of Matt Kures, UW-Extension.

Did you know?
According to Men's Health magazine, Madison Wisconsin ranks first as the city with the healthiest teeth in the nation.