About the University of Maryland Medical Center

Awards and Honors

The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) is a major, innovative teaching hospital that has received much national recognition for its work, especially in the areas of patient safety and quality, and for being an employee- and family-friendly employer.

	UMMC Receives Gold Award from the American Heart Association as a Fit-Friendly Company for Second Straight Year 9/25/2009 The American Heart Association has recognized UMMC with the Start! Fit-Friendly Company Gold Level Award for the second straight year for its efforts to promote the health of its employees. The award recognizes UMMC's creating a culture of physical activity in the workplace and promoting a wellness culture by providing support to employees and implementing physical, nutritional and cultural changes.

	Five UMMC Programs Make 2009 "Best Hospitals" List 7/16/2009 UMMC's cancer, ear, nose and throat, kidney disease, urology and respiratory disease programs are among the 50 best in the country according to the U.S. News and World Report's annual "Best Hospitals" survey.

	UMMC Receives Magnet Designation in Recognition of Nursing Excellence 7/13/2009 The University of Maryland Medical Center has achieved Magnet Designation in recognition of the hospital's nursing excellence. Magnet status is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to hospitals that meet specific criteria for nursing professionalism, teamwork and the highest standards in patient care. Only about 5 percent of hospitals across the United States have this prestigious designation.

	UMMC's Cardiac Care Unit Receives Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence 4/7/2009 UMMC's Cardiac Care Unit has received the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). The award recognizes the top intensive care units in the country. To receive the award, intensive care units must meet rigorous criteria for excellence, exhibiting high-quality standards and exceptional care for patients and their families while fostering and sustaining healthy work environments. The units are evaluated on 42 criteria in six categories: patient outcomes; evidence-based practice and research; leadership and organizational ethics; excellence and innovation in recruitment and retention; education, training and mentoring; and promoting healing environments.

	UMMC Named One of Nation's Top Hospitals by Consumers' Checkbook, AARP Magazine 3/26/2009 UMMC is listed among the nation's top 125 hospitals, according to a Consumers' Checkbook survey for the May/June 2009 issue of AARP Magazine. Consumers' Checkbook, a non-profit research organization, rated hospitals in the nation's 53 largest metropolitan areas to develop its list. Consumers' Checkbook uses government statistics, surveys of doctors and other forms of research to compare and rank hospitals for the quality of care they provide. Criteria for the survey include doctor recommendations, patient recommendations, whether proper tests and procedures are carried out, complications in major cases, and death rates for high-risk cases.

	UMMC Named a "Top Hospital to Work For" by Nursing Professionals Magazine 1/15/2009 UMMC was one of 100 hospitals selected as a "Top Hospital to Work For" based on a job satisfaction survey of 25,000 nurses from around the country by Nursing Professionals Magazine. Winning hospitals were recognized for giving nurses a voice in how things are done, being family-friendly employers who offer flexible work schedules and for having a diverse nursing workforce.

	UMMC Again Recognized Nationally as a Top Hospital for Cardiovascular Care 11/17/2008 For the second year in a row, UMMC is one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals for cardiovascular care, according to a study by Thomson Reuters, which provides healthcare research for businesses and professionals.

	UMMC Only Hospital in Maryland to Receive Four Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care Recognition from Blue Cross and Blue Shield 11/16/2008 UMMC is the only Maryland hospital to receive Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care recognition in four areas: bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers and transplants. The designation is based on rigorous, clinically meaningful measures established in collaboration with expert physicians’ and medical organizations’ recommendations. The goal is to help consumers find healthcare facilities that have demonstrated better overall outcomes in the delivery of specialty care.

	UMMC Named as One of the Nation’s Top Hospitals for Safety and Quality, Third Year in a Row 9/24/2008 For a third year in a row, the Leapfrog Group has named UMMC as one of the nation’s best acute-care hospitals for patient safety and quality of care. This prestigious recognition was awarded to only 26 acute-care hospitals and seven children’s hospitals nationwide.

	University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center Receives Prestigious National Cancer Institute Designation 9/3/2008 The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center has been selected as a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center, a distinction shared by only 63 other centers across the country.

	UMMC Receives Gold Award from the American Heart Association as a Fit-Friendly Company 9/1/2008 The American Heart Association has recognized UMMC with the Start! Fit-Friendly Company Gold Level Award for its efforts to promote the health of its employees. The award recognizes UMMC's creating a culture of physical activity in the workplace and promoting a wellness culture by providing support to employees and implementing physical, nutritional and cultural changes.

	Five UMMC Programs Make 2008 "Best Hospitals" List 7/14/2008 UMMC’s cancer, ear, nose and throat, heart and heart surgery, kidney disease and urology programs are among the 50 best in the country according to the U.S. News and World Report’s annual “Best Hospitals” survey.

	Get Fit Maryland Wins National Innovation in Prevention Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 11/27/2007 The Get Fit Maryland program, the result of a partnership among the University of Maryland Medical Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine and Merritt Athletic Clubs, was one of nine organizations or businesses chosen as a national Innovation in Prevention Award winners by the Department of Health and Human Services for their efforts in promoting healthy lifestyles in communities.

	UMMC's Bariatric Surgery Program Receives Prestigious Center of Excellence Designation 11/05/2007 The American College of Surgeons have given its highest accreditation for bariatric surgery to the UMMC Center of Weight Management and Wellness. UMMC is one just two centers in Maryland and 56 nationally honored as a Level 1 Center of Excellence.

	Heart Center, Urology and Nephrology Receive “Best Hospitals” Recognition 7/15/2007 UMMC’s heart disease, urology and kidney disease programs were all recognized as being among the 50 best programs in their categories in the nation by U.S. News and World Report in its 2007 America’s Best Hospitals issue. U.S. News evaluated 5,462 hospitals, and only 173 made it into the rankings as a “Center of Excellence.”

	University of Maryland Hospital for Children Earns Certificate of Distinction in Pediatric Asthma 3/12/2007 The University of Maryland Hospital for Children is the first pediatric hospital on the East Coast to receive a certificate of distinction from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) for its treatment of children with asthma. The designation shows that the Hospital for Children’s pediatric asthma program meets rigorous standards for excellent care.
Web Site Awards
	UMMC Web Sites Win Six eHealthcare Leadership Awards 11/12/2008 The Web sites for the University of Maryland Medical Center, Heart Center and Greenebaum Cancer Center won a combined six eHealthcare Leadership Awards. The winning categories included best overall Internet site, best health content, best rich media and best eHealth organizational commitment. The awards competition -- sponsored by eHealthcare Strategy & Trends -- received 1,100 entries from more than 235 health care organizations.
More Web Awards
In addition to the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, the UMMC and UMGCC Web sites have received national recognition in other major award programs. These include the Medicine on the Net’s Web Excellence Awards, the Aster Awards, the World Wide Web Health Awards and The Web Marketing Association’s WebAwards.

This page was last updated on: September 28, 2009.

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