The Center for Health Affairs, the 105-year-old organization dedicated to convening and advocating for Northeast Ohio hospitals, along with its affiliate CHAMPS Healthcare, has been selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the 2021 Best Places to Work in Healthcare.

The Best Places to Work in Healthcare award program identifies and recognizes outstanding employers in the healthcare industry nationwide. The award program was created to acknowledge companies that continuously strive to improve their work environment and increase employee engagement, satisfaction and retention through innovative changes in the workplace. Modern Healthcare partners with the Best Companies Group on the assessment process, which includes an extensive employee survey.

“Being named as one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare is a great recognition of the dedicated work by our employees to live up to our mission, vision and values,” said The Center’s President & CEO Brian Lane. “During a challenging year for the healthcare profession, our organization prioritized the needs of our employees while striving to do everything we could to assist our members as they cared for patients, supported their own staff and lead our communities through the pandemic. We are looking forward to continuing our work as we inch closer to a post-pandemic world.”

The Center for Health Affairs has a rich history as the nation’s first regional hospital association. In the present day, The Center continues the legacy of its founders, working collaboratively through its member programs to increase the efficiency of healthcare delivery, providing insightful healthcare information to the public and undertaking initiatives aimed at improving the health of the communities it serves. The Center’s membership includes Ashtabula County Medical Center, The Cleveland Clinic Health System, Grace Hospital, Lake Health, Mercy Health, The MetroHealth System, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, Southwest General Health Center, University Hospitals and the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System.

One of the most significant evolutions in The Center’s history was the creation of its business affiliates, CHAMPS Group Purchasing (GPO) and The Essentials Group. As a group purchasing organization, CHAMPS GPO leverages the purchasing power of its membership by aggregating purchasing volume to negotiate discounts with manufacturers and distributors they use every day, allowing members access to significant savings. Through vendor partnerships, The Essentials Group is designed to bring forward opportunities to improve efficiency, productivity and outcomes for members of The Center for Health Affairs and CHAMPS GPO.

"One year into the pandemic, we've seen the industry transform to meet the needs of its patients and employees," said Aurora Aguilar, Modern Healthcare's editor. "Time and time again, the most resilient and successful organizations show that empathy towards their staff, clear vision and compassion towards the patient buoys teams and sets them up for success. We congratulate the Best Places to Work in Healthcare for eliciting loyalty from their workforce and communities during harrowing times."

The complete list of this year’s winners, in alphabetical order, is available at ModernHealthcare.com/bestplaceslist. Modern Healthcare will publish a special supplement featuring a ranked list of all the winners along with the September 20 issue of MH.

For more information about The Center for Health Affairs and its culture, contact us.

About The Center for Health Affairs: With a rich history dating back to 1916, The Center for Health Affairs serves as the collective voice and leading advocate for 36 hospitals across nine counties in Northeast Ohio. As the nation’s first regional hospital association, The Center aims to enhance the effectiveness of the healthcare community and the health of the communities it serves by providing expertise, resources and solutions to address the challenges facing the region’s healthcare providers. The Center’s efforts focus on areas in which member hospitals and their communities can benefit from a regional approach, including emergency preparedness; public policy and advocacy; finance and reimbursement; and community health. Through its business affiliate, CHAMPS Healthcare, The Center provides a broad level of professional services to its members. Headquartered in downtown Cleveland, The Center is honored to be named as one of The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Top Workplaces in 2014 and 2015; ERC’s NorthCoast99 List in 2003, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017; and Crain’s Cleveland Business and Best Companies Group’s Best Employers in Ohio in 2020 and 2021. For more, visit neohospitals.org.

About CHAMPS Group Purchasing: CHAMPS Group Purchasing leverages the purchasing power of 19,000+ member locations across the United States. CHAMPS’ members gain access to significant savings in product categories including medical & surgical supplies, foodservice, IT, wireless, office supplies and facility maintenance. Together with its national GPO partner Premier, CHAMPS supports healthcare and business & industry member supply chain initiatives through their expertise in contract management, aggregation savings, supply chain technology, spend analytics and customized service. For more, visit champsgpo.com.