Metro Health Hospital Wins Studer Group's Prestigious Excellence in Patient Care Award

WYOMING, MI, October 05, 2012 (Press-News.org) Metro Health Hospital has been chosen to receive an Excellence in Patient Care award for exemplary results from the Studer Group .

Metro will receive the award - which will be presented at the 10th annual What's Right in Health Care conference - as "Most Achieved" for its exemplary work in the Discharge Information composite ratings on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or HCAHPS, patient survey in the value-based purchasing category.

"We are pleased to have been selected for the Excellence in Patient Care award," said Ingrid Cheslek, vice president and chief nursing officer. "The award acknowledges Metro's commitment to continual improvement as we always work to raise the standard and expectations we've set for ourselves. Our goal is to always provide great care to our community. Patients receiving the best possible discharge information to successfully manage their care is important."

HCAHPS is a national standardized survey tool used to measure adult inpatient perception of the quality of care they receive at a given acute care hospital. The 27-question survey was created in 2002 by the combined efforts of The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Scores are publicly posted four times a year at http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.

Studer Group gives its Excellence in Patient Care awards to select partners based on very high scores in each of the HCAHPS categories. Metro Health Hospital received this award in the "more than 100 beds" category for having the best responses to several HCAHPS questions relating to how well post-discharge information was communicated.

"What happens after patients are discharged can matter as much as what happens when they are hospitalized," notes Quint Studer, founder of Studer Group. "Most hospitals make an effort to see that patients are well taken care of at home and that they know what symptoms to look out for - but the best ones put systems in place to ensure these things happen every day with every patient. It's about making sure the patient understands. And it's about consistency."

The What's Right in Health Care conference will take place Oct. 10-12 in Nashville, Tenn.

About Metro Health
An award-winning leader in community healthcare, Metro Health serves more than 250,000 patients annually from across West Michigan - and beyond. In addition to its 208-bed hospital, which provides a comprehensive suite of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services, Metro Health has a growing number neighborhood outpatient centers and offices throughout West Michigan, as well as a community clinic for the underserved and a student health clinic on the campus of Grand Valley State University. With more than 500 physicians on staff, Metro Health provides a growing number of specialty health services, including cancer treatment, heart and vascular, neurology, pulmonology and others. Many are members of the Metro Health Medical Group. The hospital is committed to promoting health and wellness through the work of the Metro Health Hospital Foundation, Live Healthy community outreach classes and educational programs and more. Visit us http://www.metrohealth.net, follow us on Twitter @MetroHealthGr and like us on Facebook/MetroHealth.

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Contact: Ellen Bristol
Metro Health Hospital, 616.252.5033
or
Mary Ann Sabo
Sabo Public Relations, 616.485.1432