Mercy Medical Center's Emergency Department gains in patient satisfaction

Extending a trend that began last year, a national leader in surveying patients about the care they receive in hospitals has recognized the Emergency Department at Mercy Medical Center for significant improvements in patient satisfaction.

Press Ganey, a company that specializes in gathering information to assist healthcare organizations in improving the quality of the care they provide, noted that significant positive changes made in Mercy’s Emergency Department have been recognized by patients and resulted in substantial improvements in patient satisfaction scores. Of particular note was that although the department’s patient volume has been climbing, now reaching 35,000 visits annually, the time patients spend waiting for care has been falling. And last year more than eight out of 10 patients said they would recommend Mercy’s Emergency Department to a relative, friend or neighbor.

That was reflected in the most recent Press Ganey surveys of patient satisfaction with Emergency Department services in the fourth quarter of 2009, as Mercy more than doubled its standing in the previous three months relative to all hospitals nationwide.

Earlier last year, Mercy achieved one of the nation’s largest sustained overall improvements in Press Ganey patient satisfaction scores, with dramatic increases in ratings for Overall Care and Likelihood of Recommending the Hospital. Those increases placed Mercy in the top ten percent nationally for increasing patient satisfaction ratings.