Havasu Regional Medical Center has received the Top Overall Excellence Award from the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) for its efforts to improve nurse retention. The award recognized the hospital’s submission, “Improving Nurse Retention Through Residency Program,” which described a revised nurse residency initiative launched in early 2024. According to AzHHA, the program led to a 21% increase in graduate nurse retention, rising from 68.4% to 89.4% by the end of the year.
AzHHA also announced winners across several other categories for its 2025 Quality Awards. The Outstanding Patient/Community Impact Award honored healthcare facilities that demonstrated measurable improvements in patient outcomes, such as reducing infection rates and improving safety.
In the category for facilities with 25 beds or fewer, San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation was recognized for its mammogram screening project, while Sage Memorial Hospital was awarded for an elder care initiative. Valley View Medical Center won in the 26-100 bed category for a hand hygiene compliance campaign aimed at reducing infections. Havasu Regional Medical Center also received recognition in the 101-300 bed group for work on reducing blood culture contamination in emergency care. Tucson Medical Center earned honors among hospitals with more than 300 beds for its collaborative community care program, and Vista Specialty Hospital of Tucson (formerly Cornerstone Specialty Hospital Tucson) was recognized as a specialty hospital for patient-focused reliability improvements.
The Clinical Excellence Award highlighted achievements in clinical workflows and workforce improvement. Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center received this award among small hospitals for efforts to enhance medical-surgical outcomes through mindful practice and nurse retention strategies. Valley View Medical Center was acknowledged again for building local healthcare workforce capacity, while Havasu Regional Medical Center’s nurse residency program also secured recognition in this category among mid-sized hospitals. Onvida Health won among larger institutions with its transition-to-practice program.
“All of our award winners illustrate the tremendous work that is happening in communities across our state to improve healthcare for all Arizonans,” said Alameddin.
