HAP Announces 2026 Achievement Award Winners

Twelve Pennsylvania hospital and health system projects recognized for improving health

Harrisburg, PA (April 8, 2026)—The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) is recognizing 12 projects led by Pennsylvania health care teams that personify hospitals’ mission to provide high-quality care and improve their communities’ health.

Started in 1978, HAP’s annual Achievement Awards program recognizes hospitals and health systems that are employing innovative approaches to strengthening the safety and quality of care, enhancing operations and patients’ experience, and partnering with their communities to address public health needs. This year’s winners were selected from 125 entries.

“The 2026 HAP Achievement Awards highlight the innovative ways hospitals are delivering outstanding results for patients,” said HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings. “Hospitals are vital to Pennsylvania, working inside and outside their walls to improve health and strengthen the communities they serve."

Entries are judged in two divisions based on the organization’s size and selected among the following categories: Workforce Innovators, Optimal Operations, Excellence in Care, Community Champions, and In Safe Hands. The Living the Vision Award—celebrating bold, innovative work that transforms care, improves health, and enhances value—is selected from the overall pool of entries across all size divisions. Entries were scored on specific criteria including results, and adaptability.

The 2026 Achievement Award winners are:

Living the Vision Award 

• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for transforming youth substance use disorder care through an innovative, systemwide program that expands early identification, treatment access, and harm-reduction services

Community Champions Award

• Geisinger for establishing a Social Needs Resource Hub that connects patients with essential resources and addresses unmet social needs
• WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital for redesigning behavioral health crisis care through expanded community-based services, including walk-in center and mobile crisis programs

Excellence in Care Award

• Allegheny General Hospital for advancing early mobility for critically ill patients through a multidisciplinary care approach that improves survival and discharge outcomes
• AHN Grove City Hospital for spearheading a quality initiative focused on early sepsis detection and coordinated, evidence-based care

In Safe Hands Award

• Thomas Jefferson University Hospital for leading a multidisciplinary response to reduce nosocomial Candida auris infections in high-risk patients through advanced screening and infection prevention
• AHN Wexford Hospital for introducing a standardized approach to aspiration risk screening and swallow evaluation to reduce COPD readmissions

Optimal Operations Award

• St. Luke’s University Health Network for standardizing suicide risk screening and observation protocols to improve patient safety and reduce 1:1 observation costs
• Temple University Hospital for optimizing inpatient substance use disorder treatment to increase patient engagement and reduce length of stay and readmissions
• Roxborough Memorial Hospital for revitalizing an inpatient rehabilitation program to expand access to post-acute care and strengthen hospital throughput

Workforce Innovators Award

• Jefferson Health for transforming their nursing workforce through talent pipeline development and an employee-driven staffing model that prioritizes flexibility, career growth, and retention
• Meadville Medical Center for spearheading a hospital-based nursing school to restore local nursing education and build a nursing pipeline in rural communities

The winners will be honored at HAP’s annual Leadership Summit June 2–3 in Hershey. Additional information and details about this year’s award-winning initiatives are available online.