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PARKERSBURG — WVU Medicine Camden Clark has earned quality honors in six areas in the first Top Hospitals award program by Castle Connolly.

Castle Connolly Top Hospitals is a recognition awarded to hospitals that set the standard for excellence within specific medical procedures, according to a release from the hospital.

Its data-driven approach establishes an objective way to evaluate hospitals, leveraging comprehensive claims data to capture the full patient journey when seeking care. This ensures a complete understanding of patient experiences, allowing Castle Connolly to highlight hospitals that truly make a difference in healthcare.

The rankings are compiled based on clinical excellence, patient safety, patient outcomes and physician expertise.

Two types of awards are presented, national and state/metro, and two levels of awards, gold standard, which is the highest, and top hospital.

Camden Clark, among five WVU Medicine hospitals to receive awards, was recognized for:

* Carotid Artery Surgery: national top hospital and state gold standard

* Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: national top hospital and state gold standard

* C-Section Surgery: state gold standard

* Hysterectomy: national top hospital and state gold standard

* Knee Replacement Surgery: national and state gold standard

* Mastectomy: state gold standard

“As the academic medical center of the state’s land-grant institution, one of our charges is to provide care in the areas that most affect West Virginians. Five of our nine recognitions are for procedures related to cardiovascular disease and cancer, which impact residents of the Mountain State at higher rates than the rest of the country,” said Albert L. Wright Jr., president and CEO of the West Virginia University Health System. “We’re honored that Castle Connolly has recognized us as a state and national leader in these services, and we are grateful to all the patients from the state and region who entrust us with their care.”

To be eligible for inclusion, hospitals must meet the minimum number of admissions for a given procedure, which varies by service line and applies to both inpatient and outpatient admissions. At least 50 of the admissions must be inpatient with the exception of procedures in gastroenterology and bariatrics.