| Where patient satisfaction is concerned, Mariners Hospital is Monroe County’s highest-scoring hospital.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released detailed patient satisfaction data from a new government survey known as HCAHPS, which stands for Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems. The survey measures patient satisfaction at hospitals across the country. Nearly 4,000 hospitals nationwide participated in the survey, and Mariners significantly outperformed both national and regional averages.
The federal survey includes 10 questions that focus on communications with doctors and nurses, responsiveness of hospital staff, pain management, cleanliness and quietness of the hospital environment, and instructions about medications and discharge. The HCAHPS survey provides a national standard for collecting and publicly reporting information about patients’ perspectives on hospital care.
In reporting results, Health and Human Services keyed in on two questions. In answering the first HCAHPS survey question, 84 percent of patients gave Mariners Hospital an overall rating of 9 or 10 on a scale from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest). This is 21 percentage points above the national average of 63 percent for all reporting hospitals in the United States. It is 25 percentage-points higher than Fishermen’s score for the same question and 38 points higher than Lower Keys Medical Center.
For the second question, 88 percent of Mariners Hospital patients surveyed said they would definitely recommend the hospital. That compares to a national average of 67 percent for all reporting hospitals in the United States, 63 percent for Fishermen’s score for the same question and 53 percent for Lower Keys Medical Center.
“We voluntarily participate in this survey,” said Nelson Lazo, Mariners Hospital CEO. “We know our patients expect not only great medical care but also great customer service. HCAPHS enables us to see how well we are doing and where we can make improvements to enhance our patients’ experience with Mariners Hospital and continue to set our facility apart from other hospitals.
“Within the healthcare industry, hospitals lead the way in being transparent about the quality
of care we provide,” Mr. Lazo said. “We voluntarily started to share information about clinical care with consumers in 2005. In March of this year, we started to share the HCAPHS information about patients’ experience of care.”
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), both part of Health and Human Services, sponsor the survey.
The patient satisfaction information contained in the HCAPHS survey can be found at the Baptist Health web site (www.baptisthealth.net) and the Hospital Compare consumer Web site (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov).
Mariners Hospital is part of Baptist Health, the area’s largest faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization. Baptist Health also includes Baptist Hospital, Baptist Children’s Hospital, South Miami Hospital, Doctors Hospital, Homestead Hospital, Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute and Baptist Outpatient Services. Baptist Health Foundation, the organization's fundraising arm, supports services at all hospitals and facilities affiliated with Baptist Health. |