The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veteran Experience Office announced last week that the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain topped all other VA facilities nationwide and has received the 2020 Best in Overall Experience Award for providing patients with outstanding healthcare experiences. This is the third nationwide patient experience award in the past three years for the medical center. In both 2018 and 2019, the facility was awarded the Best Experience Award over all level III facilities in the nation. This year, VA Medical Center was recognized as number one out of 170 VA medical centers nationwide as the top performer in patient and employee experience. The facility was judged on leadership, culture, listening to the voice of the veteran, patient communications, employee engagement, veteran trust, environment, and measurement and improvement. “Earning the trust of our veterans is a major component of our noble mission, and a focal point of the culture at our medical center,” said Jim Rice, medical center director. “What makes me most proud is that our staff strive every day to improve every veteran’s experience at our medical center and our Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) across the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin.”