UT Southwestern Medical Center today became the nation's only academic medical center to win two major patient satisfaction awards - the Patient Voice Award and the Summit Award for inpatient services - from Press Ganey, a national consulting firm specializing in health care performance.
Both awards recognize outstanding care provided to patients at University Hospital - Zale Lipshy.
"This type of recognition is based directly on feedback from our patients," said Dr. Bruce Meyer, executive vice president for health system affairs. "It is a reflection of the consistent excellence we strive to deliver to patients through our team-care approach."
Press Ganey selected Patient Voice Award winners based on federal data known as Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. The data measure patient satisfaction in areas such as communication with doctors and nurses, responsiveness of hospital staff, pain management, cleanliness and quietness. Winning hospitals had to score an overall rating in the 90th percentile or higher.
Only academic medical centers with at least 300 survey responses were considered. UT Southwestern was one of just three winners out of more than 90 eligible academic medical centers.
For the Summit Award, UT Southwestern won for its inpatient services by ranking in at least the 95th percentile every three months for three consecutive years. Press Ganey evaluated data from August 2008 through July 2011. UT Southwestern was one of 37 Summit Award winners for inpatient services out of more than 1,000 eligible hospitals.
Donna Richardson, associate vice president and chief nursing officer at UT Southwestern, said her inbox and mailbox get filled every week with testimonials from patients and their family members, including a daughter who wrote to say that the UT Southwestern employees caring for her mother were "miracle workers." Another patient's letter said "the nurses made me feel like I was the most important patient to them," recounted Ms. Richardson, a registered nurse. A husband's note told of the "professionalism, courteousness, confidence, expertise and skill" displayed by the staff during his wife's stay.
"From the doctors and nurses to the housekeeper to the nutritionist delivering the food to the lab technician drawing the blood, every person at UT Southwestern is concerned with the art and science of delivering outstanding patient care," Ms. Richardson said. "We're honored to be recognized nationally for something we strive to achieve each and every day."
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