Aspirus Wausau Hospital (AWH) was named as one of the nation’s top performing hospitals by Fortune and IBM® Watson Health®. The annual Fortune/IBM 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study spotlights leading short-term, acute care, non-federal US hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients. The study is designed to identify impartial, actionable, and attainable benchmarks for hospital and clinical leaders as they work to raise their own organizations’ standards of performance in cardiac care.
“This award exemplifies Aspirus’ profound commitment to providing advanced, high-quality cardiovascular care throughout Northcentral Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan,” says Jeffrey Wicklander, SVP & President of Aspirus Wausau Hospital. “Our patients have the confidence of knowing they are being cared for by highly trained and experienced cardiovascular specialists devoted to delivering the best outcomes possible.”
This year’s study included 980 U.S. hospitals with cardiovascular service lines. Based on comparisons between the study winners and a peer group of similar hospitals in the study, the winners delivered better outcomes while operating more efficiently and at a lower cost.
Extrapolating the results of this year’s study, if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities:
More than 7,000 additional lives could be saved
More than 5,000 heart patients could be complication-free
More than $1.6 billion in inpatient costs could be saved
“With more than 120 million American adults living with some form of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular services are among the most critical in healthcare,” said Ekta Punwani, 100 Top Hospitals Program Lead, IBM Watson Health. “Hospitals are constantly working to improve clinical and operational performance, and the exceptional organizations on this list demonstrate the standard for top performing cardiac care. Their benchmarks serve as a real-world checkpoint for cardiovascular care across the U.S.”
The annual report highlights the top-performing cardiovascular hospitals in the U.S. based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational, and patient satisfaction metrics and data.
The winning hospitals were announced in Fortune. For more information, visit https://www.ibm.com/watson-health/services/100-top-hospitals.

About Aspirus– Aspirus is a non-profit, community-directed health system based in Wausau, Wisconsin. Its 8,700 employees are focused on improving the health and well-being of people throughout Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Aspirus serves communities through four hospitals in Michigan and six hospitals in Wisconsin, 50 clinics, home health and hospice care, pharmacies, critical care and air-medical transport, medical goods, nursing homes and a broad network of physicians. Aspirus has been recognized for three consecutive years by IBM Watson Health as a Top 15 Health System in its annual study identifying the top-performing health systems in the country. For more information, visit aspirus.org.