OConnor Hospital Receives 2025 Womens Choice Award as One of Americas Best Hospitals for ER Wait Times Efficiency and Patient Experience

DELHI — Bassett Healthcare Network’s O’Connor Hospital in Delhi has been recognized for the second year in a row as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for emergency room wait times by the Women’s Choice Award®. In addition, the hospital has also been recognized for a second award category this year – excellence in patient experience. This prestigious distinction signifies that O’Connor Hospital has been ranked nationally within the top 100 hospitals of similar size for these accomplishments and in the top 10% of 4,441 U.S. hospitals offering emergency care services.

Emergency departments play a critical role in the healthcare system, delivering life-saving care when it matters most. For O’Connor Hospital, a designated critical access hospital, these services are even more crucial for surrounding rural communities that otherwise would not have access to timely care. Unlike other hospital departments, ER teams often have only one brief encounter with patients—typically during moments of high stress and urgency—making timeliness and efficiency essential.

“Emergency departments can be incredibly stressful—especially for the elderly or a parent with a sick or injured child,” says Delia Passi, founder and CEO of the Women’s Choice Award. “In those critical moments, time becomes more precious than gold. The ER is a place where every second matters, and swift, informed decisions can save lives. That’s why we honor hospitals that not only deliver care quickly but also earn high patient recommendation scores—demonstrating their commitment to both efficiency and compassion when it matters most.”

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, good patient experiences positively correlate to disease management, adherence to treatment plans, and health outcomes. 82% of consumers would elect to switch to a new healthcare provider as the result of a bad experience. And 86% of women would travel up to 50 miles for a hospital that was rated best for inpatient experiences.

“O’Connor Hospital not only has some of the shortest ER wait times, but it also has a higher-than-average recommendation rating for patient experience, which is very important to women when it comes to health-related decisions,” says Passi.

The Best Hospitals for ER Wait Time & Efficiency are hospitals that rank among the best when reporting on the performance of their respective emergency timeliness measures, and while providing an excellent patient experience. They are judged on the following Emergency Department performance measures reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):

Average time patients spend in the Emergency Department before leaving the hospital

Percentage of patients who left the Emergency Department without being seen

Admissions decision time to emergency department for admitted patients

Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) recommendation ratings

To qualify, hospitals must meet or exceed the national average recommendation rating of 69%, ensuring that timely care is also delivered with compassion and quality. Hospitals that met these criteria and maintained a 69%+ recommendation rating were ranked in the top 10% nationally, earning the Women’s Choice Award for ER Wait Time & Efficiency.

The methodology used to select O’Connor Hospital as one of the 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience is unique in that it evaluates specific HCAHPS survey results along with primary research about women’s healthcare preferences. Data categories collected include:

Effective communication with nurses and doctors

Responsiveness to requests for help

Providing patient recovery information

Explanation about medications before being administered

Bathroom and room cleanliness

Peacefulness of room at night

Patient recommendation rating

“To achieve this national distinction for the second year in a row is remarkable, and we even exceeded last year’s award with recognition in a second category,” says Susan Oakes Ferrucci, DNP, MSN, RN, DNS, President and Chief Nursing Officer of Bassett Healthcare Network’s Critical Access Hospitals Division. “Plain and simple – O’Connor Hospital has an extraordinary team of caregivers who deliver best-in-class care to the communities who depend on us in Delaware County. We know patients choose us, and continue to choose us, when every second matters. Recognition for shortest ER wait times and excellent patient experiences is proof.”