St. Joseph Medical Center receives national safety award; Mercy honored as top women’s workplace

For the second straight year, University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson has been recognized as a 2025 Patient Safety Excellence Award winner by Healthgrades. 

The achievement ranks UM St. Joseph, a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System, among the top 10 percent of hospitals nationwide for patient safety. 

St. Joseph also was recently named one of America’s 100 best hospitals for orthopedic surgery, spine surgery and joint replacement and one of America’s 50 best hospitals for outpatient joint replacement. 

“Our patients’ safety is our sacred responsibility,” said Dr. Thomas B. Smyth, president and CEO of UM St. Joseph Medical Center in a media release. “We owe it to our community to remain vigilantly focused on consistently providing safe and effective care and we are grateful and proud to receive national recognition for these ongoing efforts.” 

Founded in 1864 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, UM St. Joseph Medical Center is a 221-bed Catholic, not-for-profit regional medical center.

To determine the top-performing hospitals for patient safety, Healthgrades evaluated risk-adjusted complication and mortality rates for approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide. 

Healthgrades’ analysis revealed significant performance gaps between the nation’s highest- and lowest-achieving facilities. From 2021 to 2023, 173,280 preventable safety events occurred among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals, with four patient safety indicators accounting for nearly 76 percent of these incidents. The annual study found that patients treated in hospitals that received the 2025 Patient Safety Excellence Award have a significantly lower chance of experiencing one of the four leading safety indicators than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.

Mercy honored

Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore has been named one as a great place for women to work by Newsweek in partnership with data analytics firm Plant-A Insights Group. 

America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women 2025 identified 1,000 organizations across the U.S. for their efforts in supporting, empowering and ensuring women thrive in the workplace. Mercy also earned the distinction in 2023. 

The companies honored this year span across industries, from finance and healthcare to technology and manufacturing. Mercy was one of five hospital systems in Maryland to be recognized.

The ranking highlights companies that provide comprehensive employee benefits and foster workplace cultures that support the success and advancement of women. 

To compile the rankings, Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group gathered data through more than 215,000 employee interviews, collecting more than 2.2 million company reviews, combined with publicly accessible data analysis, interviews with human resource professionals and confidential online surveys completed by 215,000 female employees. 

“Mercy Medical Center was founded by women, the Sisters of Mercy, 150 years ago, and has built a national reputation for women’s health care. This designation, as one of the nation’s best places for women to work, is further evidence of Mercy’s efforts to help women to thrive and grow in their careers,” said Sister of Mercy Helen Amos, executive chairwoman of the Mercy Health Services Board of Trustees in a media release.

Founded in 1874 by the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Medical Center is located in downtown Baltimore and is a university-affiliated teaching facility. Mercy is home to the Weinberg Center for Women’s Health and Medicine.

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