WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital Earns National Recognition for High-Performing Knee Replacement and Top 5% Clinical Outcomes

WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital (搜索)搜索该词条 (PCH) has earned national recognition as a high-performing hospital for knee replacement surgeries in the U.S. News & World Report (搜索)搜索该词条 2026-2027 Best Hospitals edition, underscoring the growing clinical capabilities of a rural healthcare system serving Southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia.

The recognition reflects the comprehensive care provided by the PCH Orthopedic Center, where orthopedic surgeons, specially trained nursing staff, rehabilitation therapists and support teams work together to guide patients from preoperative education through recovery. The program is a regional leader in robotic-assisted joint replacement, utilizing Mako SmartRobotics (搜索)搜索该词条 technology to deliver personalized hip and knee replacement procedures.

"Our Orthopedic Center has built a culture of excellence and innovation that puts patient success at the center of everything we do," said Karen Bowling, PCH President and CEO. "This recognition reflects the expertise, teamwork and compassion our orthopedic team brings to every patient, every day."

U.S. News & World Report (搜索)搜索该词条 evaluated nearly 4,500 hospitals across 14 adult specialties and 23 procedures and conditions; less than half earned recognition in any of those 37 areas of care. To determine the ratings, U.S. News analyzed each hospital's performance based on objective measures such as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications, and patient experience.

A Top 5% Hospital for Clinical Performance

The knee replacement designation arrives alongside a separate national honor. This year, PCH was named one of America's Best 250 Hospitals by Healthgrades (搜索)搜索该词条, placing it among the top five percent of hospitals nationwide for clinical performance. That recognition is based solely on patient outcomes, including survival rates, complication prevention, and quality-of-care measures derived from Medicare data from approximately 4,500 hospitals across the United States.

"It's evidence that a new era of healthcare is taking hold in our region," said Bowling. "Our patients deserve access to exceptional care without having to leave their communities, and this recognition validates the extraordinary work our physicians, nurses, and staff deliver every day."

Serving a High-Need Rural Region

PCH serves patients across a 10-county region stretching through Southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia, including Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming, Raleigh, Summers, Greenbrier, and Monroe counties in West Virginia, as well as Bland, Tazewell, and Giles counties in Virginia.

These communities face some of the highest rates of chronic illness in the country. Heart disease, diabetes, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cancer disproportionately affect Appalachian populations. Many residents contend with transportation barriers, financial challenges, physician shortages, and limited access to preventive healthcare. Rural hospitals often care for patients who arrive later in the course of illness, with multiple chronic conditions and complex medical needs.

Investment in Technology and Specialty Care

Today, PCH operates as a 203-bed acute care hospital providing emergency medicine, comprehensive surgical services, women's health, pediatrics, advanced imaging, laboratory diagnostics, critical care, rehabilitation, and specialty physician services. Its growing regional footprint extends beyond the Princeton campus, with a Bluefield campus offering a full-service emergency department, radiation oncology services, and expanding outpatient care, as well as a Behavioral Health Center providing inpatient psychiatric care and outpatient behavioral health services.

Since joining WVU Medicine, PCH has opened a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratory, bringing around-the-clock heart attack care to the region. It became the first hospital in West Virginia to install advanced Spectral CT technology, providing physicians with unprecedented imaging detail, including real-time visualization of the heart and coronary arteries.

The hospital has strengthened services across numerous specialties by adding intensivists, pediatric hospitalists, infectious disease physicians, endocrinologists, pulmonologists, neurosurgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons, sleep medicine providers, and other specialists. Expanded telehealth partnerships now connect local patients with pediatric and adult specialists.

Expanding Cancer Care and Clinical Outcomes

Cancer care has experienced particularly dramatic growth. Through its collaboration with the WVU Cancer Institute (搜索)搜索该词条, patients now have access to advanced radiation oncology, precision medicine, targeted therapies, supportive care programs, and clinical trials that previously required extensive travel. Construction is underway on a comprehensive cancer center scheduled to open in late winter 2027/2028.

Hospital leaders report that clinical outcomes have improved across numerous conditions, including heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory failure, bowel obstruction, and sepsis. PCH has also earned designation as a Primary Stroke Center, a Level IV Trauma Center, and received "Always Ready for Kids" recognition for pediatric emergency readiness.

"Our patients are our neighbors, friends, and families," Bowling said. "Every improvement we've made has been driven by a simple goal: ensuring people in our communities have access to outstanding healthcare close to home."