WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital is the latest health organization to earn a Stage 7 Award from HIMSS Analytics.

The achievement represents the York, Pennsylvania-based hospital’s attainment of the highest level on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model, whose eight stages measure a facility's prowess in implementing and using information technology.

Only 4.1 percent of the more than 5,400 hospitals in the U.S. have reached Stage 7, which requires a complete EMR environment with continuity of care transactions, and data continuity with the ED, ambulatory sites and more.

[Also: Stage 7 success stories]

WellSpan Health, which serves the communities of central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland, is an an integrated health system with more than 850 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, a home care organization, six hospitals and more than than 140 patient care locations.

John H. Daniels, global vice president in the healthcare advisory services group, of HIMSS Analytics, said a couple things stood out during a validation site visit to WellSpan Health – notably, strong operational and governance support of its overall electronic health record strategy and a commitment to clinical leadership in its IT projects.

"This approach was evident in the case studies they presented that showed significant benefits realization in improved outcomes and cost savings," Daniels said in a statement

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R. Hal Baker, MD, senior vice president of clinical improvement and chief information officer at WellSpan, said the hospital "was built around leveraging the electronic medical record," and pointed to effective the integration of biomedical devices as one of its biggest achievements.

WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital will be recognized at the 2016 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition, which takes place Feb. 29, through March 4, at the  Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas.

Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN

This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the HIMSS16 conference. Follow our live blog for real-time updates, and visit Destination HIMSS16 for a full rundown of our reporting from the show. For a selection of some of the best social media posts of the show, visit our Trending at #HIMSS16 hub.