Southern Ohio Medical Center is a 211-bed hospital serving a large, sparsely populated region across southern Ohio and northern Kentucky. The community hospital earned its 12th “A” grade from The Leapfrog Group in 2025 thanks to a sustained “zero harm” strategy that has included a multidisciplinary C. difficile screening process that drove a 30% relative decrease in hospital-acquired infections while saving the infectious diseases pharmacist 3.5 hours per week. The hospital recently earned the Healthgrades “Outstanding Patient Experience Award” and the “America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Outpatient Prostate Care Award,” and was ranked 16th in Newsweek‘s “America’s Best-in-State Hospitals” for Ohio in 2026. Through its MEDITECH opioid stewardship toolkit, clinicians can access state prescription drug monitoring databases, conduct risk assessments and track patients’ risk of substance use disorder. This is a critical tool in Portsmouth, which was an epicenter of the Scioto County opioid epidemic. The hospital implemented customized urine culture ordering screens and rule logic in its EHR, and reported a 29% reduction in urine culture orders six months post-implementation. In early 2026, the medical center opened a newly redesigned orthopedic associates clinic combining orthopedic surgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and podiatry under one roof. It is now preparing to open the Raceland Family Practice & Specialty Associates facility in Kentucky, adding a drive-thru community pharmacy, primary care, orthopedics, general surgery and X-ray services to a rural region.
