Emplify Health by Bellin Oconto Hospital recognized by Vizient as 2026 Birnbaum Quality Leadership top performer

OCONTO – Emplify Health by Bellin Oconto Hospital announced it has been recognized as a top performer in the 2026 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Ranking by Vizient.

Emplify Health by Bellin Oconto Hospital was one of 16 Vizient provider clients in the Critical Access Hospital cohort recognized for demonstrating excellence in delivering high-quality care based on the Vizient Quality and Accountability Study.

“Quality and accountability are the cornerstone of the patient care and experience we provide at Emplify Health by Bellin Oconto Hospital, and we are grateful to receive this recognition that reflects that commitment,” said Julie Bulin, vice president at Emplify Health by Bellin Oconto Hospital.

“As a Critical Access Hospital providing care to our rural Northeast Wisconsin communities, our second-to-none providers and staff take seriously our duty to provide safe, effective, patient-centered care that is on par with what patients expect from a larger urban hospital.”

This year, 1,348 participating hospitals were segmented into seven cohorts for the Vizient Quality and Accountability Study. The study measures performance on the quality of patient care in six domains — safety, mortality, effectiveness, efficiency, patient centeredness and variation in care. The study factors in measures from the Vizient Clinical Data Base and includes performance data from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey and the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network.

The Vizient Quality and Accountability Study helps participating hospitals and health systems understand their performance against their peers and identifies structures and processes associated with high performance in quality and safety across a broad spectrum of patient care activity. The recognition period is for work spanning July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

“Delivering consistently high-quality care requires organizations to align clinical expertise, operational discipline and a continuous focus on improvement,” said David Levine, MD, chief medical officer at Vizient.
“The hospitals recognized this year demonstrate what is possible when that commitment is embedded across the organization, resulting in better performance and, most importantly, better care for patients.”