Saint Francis recognized for outstanding patient experience

Saint Francis Medical Center has achieved the 2015 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ from Healthgrades. Saint Francis was identified as providing outstanding performance in the delivery of a positive experience for patients during their hospital stay, according to Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. This is fourth consecutive year Saint Francis has been honored with the Outstanding Patient Experience Award.

Healthgrades evaluated the 3,575 hospitals that submitted patient surveys to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), covering admissions from January-December 2013 in order to identify hospital performance in this area.

"Patient satisfaction is a top priority for Saint Francis," says Steven C. Bjelich, FACHE-D, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saint Francis. "We work very hard to ensure every patient is treated as an individual and with dignity and respect. This high praise for Saint Francis comes from the people who matter the most -- our patients."

Healthgrades evaluated performance by applying a scoring methodology to 10 patient experience measures, using data collected from a 27-question 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.

In order 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, 3,005 hospitals met those requirements with 452 hospitals outperforming their peers, based on their patients' responses in order to achieve this distinction. Saint Francis' performance places them among the top 15 percent in the nation.

"Today, more than ever before, consumers face decisions -- and research their options -- relating to where to obtain care, so factors like patient experience are increasingly important," said Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Officer at Healthgrades. "Consumers can have confidence that hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades 2015 Outstanding Patient Experience Award deliver a positive experience for the patient during their hospital stay."

For more information about Healthgrades, to download a full copy of the report or to get information about hospital and physician quality, visit www.healthgrades.com/quality today.