Awards and recognition
In addition to our certifications, Research Medical Center is proud to have a variety of awards and recognitions as examples of our dedication to quality healthcare.
Achievements
#1 in Missouri for Vascular Surgery in 2026
Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Awards recognize the top 10% of hospitals across the country in 17 specialty care areas. Among those in the top 10%, the very best hospitals are named among the top 100 in the country. Research Medical Center has been named among the best in the state for Vascular Surgery since 2023.
America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Vascular Surgery for Three Years in a Row in 2026
Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Awards recognize the top 10% of hospitals across the country in 17 specialty care areas. Among those in the top 10%, the very best hospitals are named among the top 100 in the country.
America's 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care™ in 2025
Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Awards recognize the top 10% of hospitals across the country in 17 specialty care areas. Among those in the top 10%, the very best hospitals are named among the top 100 in the country.
Research Medical Center is the only hospital in the Kansas City region – and the only hospital in Missouri – to earn the America's Best 100 Hospital for Stroke Care honor in 2023 and 2024. In 2025, RMC was named the #1 hospital in Missouri for Stroke Care.
America's 100 Best Hospitals for Gastrointestinal Surgery™ in 2023
Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Awards recognize the top 10% of hospitals across the country in 17 specialty care areas. Among those in the top 10%, the very best hospitals are named among the top 100 in the country.
2025 Patient Safety Excellence Award™
For the 6th year in a row, Research Medical Center has been designated for superior performance in preventing the occurrence of serious, potentially avoidable complications for patients during hospital stays. The distinction places it among the top 10 percent of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data for its excellent performance as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.
2025 Get With The Guidelines® Heart Failure – Gold Plus
Research Medical Center has received the American Heart Association's Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines® – Heart Failure quality achievement award for its commitment to improving outcomes for patients with heart failure, meaning reduced readmissions and more healthy days at home. Regional Medical Center has received this award consecutively since 2013.
The Get With The Guidelines – Heart Failure quality achievement award is earned by hospitals that demonstrate a commitment to treating patients according to the most up-to-date guidelines as outlined by the American Heart Association. Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest evidence – and research-based guidelines. The program aims to increase healthy days at home and reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.
2025 Get With The Guidelines® Stroke - Gold Plus
Research Medical Center has received the American Heart Association's Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability. Regional Medical Center has received this award consecutively since 2017.
Research Medical Center also received the American Heart Association's Target: Type 2 Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.
2026 5-Star Rating for Treatment of Stroke
This hospital has achieved 5-stars — for its treatment of stroke care — from Healthgrades® for the fifth year in a row. Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 34 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions. A 5-star rating indicates that this hospital's clinical outcomes are statistically significantly better than expected when treating the condition or performing the procedure being evaluated.
Breast Imaging Center of Excellence
By awarding facilities the status of a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, the ACR recognizes breast imaging centers that have earned accreditation in mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, and breast ultrasound (including ultrasound-guided breast biopsy). Peer-review evaluations, conducted in each breast imaging modality by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field, have determined that this facility has achieved high practice standards in image quality, personnel qualifications, facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs.
Accreditations and certifications
Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification
Awarded by The Joint Commission and American Heart Association, Research Medical Center is the first and only HCA Healthcare Comprehensive Cardiac Center. This certification honors heart programs with a comprehensive approach to care and a commitment to excellence, along with a dedication to continuous improvement. The certification criteria include outstanding patient outcomes and a patient-first philosophy where all specialties work together for the benefit of the patient.
Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification
A Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) is a high-level hospital facility certification awarded by The Joint Commission, the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association to facilities who treat the most complex stroke cases.
Advanced Certification in Heart Failure
The Joint Commission has developed an advanced level of certification for programs that must meet the requirements for Disease-Specific Care Certification plus additional, clinically specific requirements and expectations. This certification improves the quality of care provided to patients, demonstrates our commitment to a higher standard of service, provides a framework for organizational structure and management, provides a competitive edge in the marketplace, enhances staff recruitment and development and is recognized by insurers and other third parties.
Certified Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
The American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) certification demonstrates that this hospital's program is aligned with current guidelines as approved by the AACVPR for the appropriate and effective early outpatient care of patients with cardiac or pulmonary issues. Certified AACVPR programs are recognized as leaders in the field of cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation because they offer the most advanced practices available.
Chest Pain Center Accreditation with PCI
The Accredited Chest Pain Center at this hospital has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and undergoing an onsite review by a team of from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care's accreditation review specialists. Key areas in which an Accredited Chest Pain Center must demonstrate expertise include the following: Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system; assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients quickly; effectively treating patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms; continually seeking to improve processes and procedures; ensuring the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center personnel; maintaining organizational structure and commitment; having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care; and supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack.
Computed Tomography Accreditation
The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.
ACS Verified Level 1 Trauma Center in Missouri
Trauma verification by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma is the highest possible ranking for trauma centers in the United States. This verification recognizes the hospital's dedication to providing the best possible care, including 24-hour in-house coverage by highly trained trauma surgeons, critical care nurses and support staff in addition to expert care in specialties such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology, internal medicine, burns and crucial care.
Mammography Accreditation
The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.
MRI Accreditation
The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.
National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC)
As the gold standard for breast center accreditation, NAPBC evaluates strengths across a wide spectrum of services, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis, support staff, staging, cancer treatment, rehabilitation, the quality of the multidisciplinary team and genetic counseling. To receive accreditation, breast centers must undergo a rigorous evaluation and review of their performance and adherence to NAPBC standards. Based on these stringent, nationally recognized, evidence-based quality measures, accreditation is granted only to those centers that commit to providing the best possible comprehensive care to patients with diseases of the breast.
Nuclear Medicine Accreditation
The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.
The Commission on Cancer Accreditation
The Commission on Cancer (CoC) Accreditation Program encourages hospitals, treatment centers, and other facilities to improve their quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs. These programs focus on prevention, early diagnosis, pretreatment evaluation, staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, surveillance for recurrent disease, support services, and end-of-life care. The availability of a full range of medical services along with a multidisciplinary team approach to patient care at accredited cancer programs has resulted in approximately 80 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients being treated in CoC-accredited cancer programs.
The Joint Commission National Quality Approval
This hospital has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval® for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission's national standards for health care quality and safety in hospitals. The accreditation award recognizes this hospital's dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission's state-of-the-art standards.
Ultrasound Accreditation
The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.
Vascular Testing Accreditation
Accreditation by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) means that this hospital has undergone a thorough review of its operational and technical components by a panel of experts. The IAC grants accreditation only to those facilities that are found to be providing quality patient care, in compliance with national standards through a comprehensive application process including detailed case study review. IAC accreditation is a "seal of approval" that patients can rely on as an indication that the facility has been carefully critiqued on all aspects of its operations considered relevant by medical experts in the field of Vascular Testing.