NEWBERRY— Newberry Hospital has achieved the Healthgrades 2016 Outstanding Patient Experience Award after it was identified as providing outstanding performance in the delivery of a positive experience for patients during their hospital stay.
Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals, made the designation.
Healthgrades evaluated 3,858 hospitals that submitted at least 100 patient experience surveys to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), covering admissions from April 2014 to March 2015 to identify hospital performance in this area.
“Our staff works collaboratively to come up with ways to make each and every patient’s experience with Newberry Hospital positive. Providing high-quality care in a safe environment is key to the health of our community and the success of our hospital,” said Bruce Baldwin, CEO of the hospital.
Healthgrades evaluated performance by applying a scoring methodology to 10 patient experience measures, using data collected from a 32-question patient experience survey of the hospital’s own patients.
The survey questions focus on patients’ perspectives of their care in the hospital. Question topics range from cleanliness and noise levels in patient rooms to factors such as pain management and responsiveness to patients’ needs. The measures also include whether a patient would recommend the hospital to friends or family.
To be recognized by Healthgrades, hospitals must meet eligibility requirements for consideration, which in addition to number of survey responses, includes clinical performance thresholds.
Nationally, 2,965 hospitals met those requirements with 448 hospitals outperforming their peers, based on their patients’ responses in order to achieve this distinction Newberry Hospital’s performance places them among the top 10 percent in the nation.
“Consumers are increasingly using patient experience and satisfaction as a measure to both evaluate hospitals and to select where they want to obtain care,” said Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Officer for Healthgrades. “We commend those hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades 2016 Outstanding Patient Experience Award for delivering superior patient care experiences during their hospital stay.”
Newberry Hospital has recently implemented a couple of new practices to address quality, safety and patient experience. Lead by Bruce Baldwin, the Chief Executive Officer, along with staff, patients are asked about their visit while they are at Newberry Hospital. “Is there anything else we can do for you?”
Also, the Board of Trustees and the Executive team approved the purchase of new patient beds that offer safety features that aid our clinical staff in the prevention of falls. Staff throughout Newberry Hospital are encouraged to provide suggestions on how to continually cultivate every patient’s experience.
Visit www.Healthgrades.com/quality for more information about Healthgrades or to download a full copy of the report.