Gundersen among top 15 percent nationally for patient experience

News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2014

Gundersen Media Contacts:
Chris Stauffer, Media and Communications,
(608) 775-6622

,cjstauff@gundersenhealth.org
Brian Gilberts, Media and Communications,

(608) 775-6399,bcgilber@gundersenhealth.org

Healthgrades® recently named Gundersen Health System a recipient of the 2014 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™. The distinction places Gundersen among the top 15 percent of hospitals in the nation that have been identified for outstanding performance in delivering positive experiences for patients during their hospital stay. This is the seventh consecutive year Gundersen has received the award.

Healthgrades overall patient experience methodology evaluates hospital patient survey data collected from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) covering admissions from March 2012 to April 2013. Healthgrades evaluated Gundersen’s performance on measures ranging from cleanliness and noise levels in the patient room to factors such as pain management and responsiveness to patient needs. The measures also include whether a patient would recommend the hospital to friends or family.

“At Gundersen, we take our patients’ feedback seriously. The CMS data is one of the tools we use to determine, from the patients’ perspective, what we’re doing well and the areas we need to improve. We are continually working on improving the experience our patients have when they are in our care. The Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award is a testament to the hard work of all of our staff to keep the patients’ experience at the forefront of all they do,” says Gale Kreibich, director, Service Excellence, Gundersen Health System.

“As consumers are becoming more active participants in their healthcare, measured performance surrounding the patient experience at a hospital is an increasingly important consideration for patients in choosing where to receive their care,” adds Evan Marks, EVP Informatics and Strategy, Healthgrades. “Consumers can rest assured that those hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades 2014 Patient Experience Award demonstrate a commitment to exceptional focus on the needs of the patient during their hospital stay.”

Healthgrades is the leading online resource for information about hospitals and physicians. For more information about Healthgrades, to download a full copy of the report or to get information about hospital and physician quality, go towww.healthgrades.com. For a listing of Gundersen’s Healthgrades’ designations, go to www.gundersenhealth.org/healthgrades

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