Atlantic General Hospital Scores in Top 5 Percent in Patient Satisfaction
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A twelve-month patient satisfaction survey conducted by NRC Picker, an
international healthcare quality measurement agency, reveals that Atlantic
General Hospital is supporting its mission to provide quality care and
personalized service to its patients.
Atlantic General scored in the top five percent of participating healthcare organizations across the nation in overall patient satisfaction. This group includes 750 hospitals of varying sizes. Of these, 186 are in AGH’s peer group, which includes hospitals with 100 or fewer beds.
The 62-bed acute care hospital consistently outranked its peers through the four areas surveyed: outpatient services, outpatient surgery, inpatient care, and the emergency department. Superior communication was noted by those surveyed, and 96 percent of respondents stated that they were treated with professionalism and courtesy across the continuum of care.
The vast majority of surveyed outpatients who underwent surgery gave the hospital high marks in communication, indicating that they were given the information they needed for their recovery as well as the necessary contact information if they had questions after discharge. Inpatients participating in the survey felt that the hospital excelled in involving their families and friends in the treatment process.
“We recognize the importance of loved ones to the success of healing, and we try to involve and educate the family, as much as patient privacy regulations allow, to give patients as much support in the recovery process as possible,” said Jackie Todd, Director of Nursing at Atlantic General.
“It’s gratifying to know the survey results reflect that atmosphere.”
The emergency department received high scores most notably in the access to care. More than 75 percent of patients waited less than 30 minutes to be seen by a physician from the time they entered the emergency room.
This is important, not only to patient satisfaction, but to a hospital’s ability to treat everyone who comes to the emergency department, according to Andi West-McCabe, the director of emergency services at Atlantic General Hospital.
“The department strives to make every patient’s wait to see a doctor as short as possible. When faced with an extended delay to see a physician, emergency room trends across the nation show that some patients will leave to seek care elsewhere or give up completely.
“We don’t want to place anyone in a position where they feel they can’t get the help they need,” said West-McCabe. “These results show that our ongoing efforts to streamline procedure and increase efficiency have really paid off.”
Why NRC Picker/Why Now
Patients’ satisfaction with their healthcare experiences has always been a primary concern for Atlantic General Hospital. Confidence in a healthcare provider is necessary for meaningful physician-patient communication and is an integral part of treatment and recovery.
Atlantic General Hospital has conducted its own patient satisfaction surveys since the hospital opened its doors more than twelve years ago. The results offered key insights into areas where the hospital excelled and indicated aspects of care with potential for improvement. But, never before has the hospital had a benchmark with which to compare its results. Until now.
“It’s all about community,” said Michael Franklin, president and CEO of Atlantic General Hospital. “Atlantic General Hospital exists because of the untiring efforts of community leaders in Worcester County to have hospital and healthcare services conveniently available to residents and visitors of this region.
“Through this charter, AGH has been charged with meeting these needs of this community; and due to our people – the physicians, nurses, clinical and non-clinical support staff – we meet this charge while living up to our core values of respect and kindness, personalized attention, and community commitment. This sets us apart from all others.”
NRC Picker, the oldest performance measurement firm in the nation solely dedicated to the healthcare industry, provides patient satisfaction survey tools to hospitals, health plans, government agencies and medical groups throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. The agency maintains the world’s largest patient experience database, with which they determine the aspects of healthcare that are most important to patients.
Atlantic General Hospital’s patient satisfaction surveys are conducted on an ongoing basis and results will be reported by NRC Picker quarterly.
Atlantic General scored in the top five percent of participating healthcare organizations across the nation in overall patient satisfaction. This group includes 750 hospitals of varying sizes. Of these, 186 are in AGH’s peer group, which includes hospitals with 100 or fewer beds.
The 62-bed acute care hospital consistently outranked its peers through the four areas surveyed: outpatient services, outpatient surgery, inpatient care, and the emergency department. Superior communication was noted by those surveyed, and 96 percent of respondents stated that they were treated with professionalism and courtesy across the continuum of care.
The vast majority of surveyed outpatients who underwent surgery gave the hospital high marks in communication, indicating that they were given the information they needed for their recovery as well as the necessary contact information if they had questions after discharge. Inpatients participating in the survey felt that the hospital excelled in involving their families and friends in the treatment process.
“We recognize the importance of loved ones to the success of healing, and we try to involve and educate the family, as much as patient privacy regulations allow, to give patients as much support in the recovery process as possible,” said Jackie Todd, Director of Nursing at Atlantic General.
“It’s gratifying to know the survey results reflect that atmosphere.”
The emergency department received high scores most notably in the access to care. More than 75 percent of patients waited less than 30 minutes to be seen by a physician from the time they entered the emergency room.
This is important, not only to patient satisfaction, but to a hospital’s ability to treat everyone who comes to the emergency department, according to Andi West-McCabe, the director of emergency services at Atlantic General Hospital.
“The department strives to make every patient’s wait to see a doctor as short as possible. When faced with an extended delay to see a physician, emergency room trends across the nation show that some patients will leave to seek care elsewhere or give up completely.
“We don’t want to place anyone in a position where they feel they can’t get the help they need,” said West-McCabe. “These results show that our ongoing efforts to streamline procedure and increase efficiency have really paid off.”
Why NRC Picker/Why Now
Patients’ satisfaction with their healthcare experiences has always been a primary concern for Atlantic General Hospital. Confidence in a healthcare provider is necessary for meaningful physician-patient communication and is an integral part of treatment and recovery.
Atlantic General Hospital has conducted its own patient satisfaction surveys since the hospital opened its doors more than twelve years ago. The results offered key insights into areas where the hospital excelled and indicated aspects of care with potential for improvement. But, never before has the hospital had a benchmark with which to compare its results. Until now.
“It’s all about community,” said Michael Franklin, president and CEO of Atlantic General Hospital. “Atlantic General Hospital exists because of the untiring efforts of community leaders in Worcester County to have hospital and healthcare services conveniently available to residents and visitors of this region.
“Through this charter, AGH has been charged with meeting these needs of this community; and due to our people – the physicians, nurses, clinical and non-clinical support staff – we meet this charge while living up to our core values of respect and kindness, personalized attention, and community commitment. This sets us apart from all others.”
NRC Picker, the oldest performance measurement firm in the nation solely dedicated to the healthcare industry, provides patient satisfaction survey tools to hospitals, health plans, government agencies and medical groups throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. The agency maintains the world’s largest patient experience database, with which they determine the aspects of healthcare that are most important to patients.
Atlantic General Hospital’s patient satisfaction surveys are conducted on an ongoing basis and results will be reported by NRC Picker quarterly.
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