Baptist Facilities Win National Accolades for Patient Satisfaction

Five Baptist Health Care facilities last night were honored at a conference held by the nation’s leading patient satisfaction measurement firm, Press Ganey Associates, which surveys more than 7,000 client facilities across the United States.

Baptist Hospital, Gulf Breeze Hospital, Baptist Medical Park, Jay Hospital and Atmore Community Hospital received Press Ganey’s 2006 Summit Award for consistently placing in the top 5 percent of the firm’s customer satisfaction database. The award is given only to facilities that sustain the highest levels of patient satisfaction for at least three consecutive years.

"Baptist Health Care and its facilities continue to maintain a high level of patient satisfaction," said Dr. Melvin F. Hall, president and chief executive officer of Press Ganey. "Their efforts benefit the region and lead to improved delivery of health care."

Receiving awards for both inpatient and outpatient services, Baptist Hospital has scored among the top 5 percent of U.S. hospitals since 1997 and in the 99th percentile since 1998. Gulf Breeze Hospital received awards for its inpatient, emergency room and ambulatory services; its inpatient scores have been in the 99th percentile since 1996, and emergency room and ambulatory services have been in the 99th percentile since joining the survey, 1997 and 1999 respectively.

Baptist Medical Park - Nine Mile received the award for ambulatory services, which have scored in the 99th percentile on the Press Ganey patient satisfaction survey since its opening nearly seven years ago. Jay and Atmore hospitals, which have remained at the 99th percentile since 1999, received the award for inpatient care.

The awards were presented in ceremonies held at the New York Marriott Marquis hotel on Broadway. Accepting the honors were two Baptist Health Care vice presidents, Bob Harriman, the administrator of Gulf Breeze Hospital, and David Wildebrandt, the administrator of Baptist Medical Park.

The Summit Award is Press Ganey’s newest award as well as the most challenging to attain. Of the 7,000 client facilities in the Press Ganey database, Summit awards were given to only 14 hospitals, 12 emergency departments, eight ambulatory centers and nine outpatient facilities.

Other winners can be found at www.pressganey.com