PHA: Press Ganey Honors 20 Physician-Owned Hospitals With Prestigious Summit Award

16 of 37 Winners of the Coveted Inpatient Satisfaction Award are Physician-Owned Hospitals; Congress to Decide if They Can Expand to Meet Patient Need and Create Jobs


WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Physician Hospitals of America (PHA) announced today that 20 physician-owned hospitals were awarded the prestigious Press Ganey 2011 Summit Award. Most notably, 16 of 37 winners of the Inpatient Patient Satisfaction Summit Award are physician-owned hospitals (POHs).

To earn this award, recipients must be ranked in the 95th percentile or above in the Press Ganey database for excellence in patient satisfaction for three consecutive years.

"Almost 45 percent of these awards on patient satisfaction go to physician-owned hospitals even though they make up less than five percent of all hospitals nationwide," stated John Richardson, executive director of Physician Hospitals of America. "This is a tribute to physician-owners and staff who care deeply about delivering the best possible care to their patients."

In the clinical care category, which measures quality of care based on CMS data, three of the 11 hospitals honored were POHs (27 percent). POHs won awards in other categories as well.

"Last year physician-owned hospitals made up a third of the Inpatient awards. This year the number is closer to half. Our hospitals continue to win a larger percentage of these patient satisfaction awards, despite the fact our numbers are shrinking," adds PHA president, Dr. Michael Russell. "Unfortunately, the government has limited access to our hospitals and we are currently fighting for the right to expand our model of patient care."

As Congress heads back into session this month it will immediately consider legislation that would provide relief for physician-owned hospitals which are currently prohibited from expanding or building new facilities to meet patient need.

"These Summit Award winners serve as shining examples of the positive outcomes that result from focusing on patient satisfaction and core measures performance to improve quality of care," says Press Ganey chief executive officer, Robert Draughon.

Physician-owned hospitals winning a 2011 Press Ganey Summit Award are:

Hospital Name CITY STATE
Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital Indianapolis IN
Heartland Surgical Specialty Hospital Overland Park KS
Great Baton Rouge Surgical Hospital Baton Rouge LA
P&S Surgical Hospital Monroe LA
Institute for Orthopaedic Surgery Lima OH
McBride Orthopedic Hospital Oklahoma City OK
Oklahoma Heart Hospital Oklahoma City OK
Oklahoma Spine Hospital Oklahoma City OK
Freeman Regional Health Services Freeman SD
Siouxland Surgery Center Dakota Dunes SD
Longview Regional Medical Center Longview TX
Weatherford Regional Medical Center Weatherford TX
Woodland Heights Med Center Lufkin TX
North Central Surgical Center Dallas TX
Texas Spine & Joint Hospital Tyler TX
The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano Plano TX
Memorial Hermann Surgical Hospital Kingwood Kingwood TX
Baylor Medical Center at Frisco Frisco TX
Southwest Surgical Hospital Hurst TX
Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin Glendale WI

Press Ganey, the health care industry's leading performance improvement firm, is trusted by more than 10,000 health care organizations to create and sustain high performing organizations and to help improve their clinical, operational and patient satisfaction outcomes.

For more information visit: www.physicianhospitals.org.

Media Contact:
Kristen Allen
CCO Healthcare Partners
312.961.4745
kma@ccopartners.com

About Physician Hospitals of America

PHA offers support, advocacy and educational services to the physician owned hospital industry, reflecting at all times the best interests of patients, physicians and other providers who play an inextricable and essential role in the provision of healthcare services. There are currently 275 physician owned hospitals serving patients in 33 states. These hospitals include general acute care, long term acute care, emergency medicine, multi-specialty, women's, children's, rehabilitation and psychiatric. According to its HCAHPS survey data, physician owned hospitals rank first for patient satisfaction in 20 states. For more information visit: www.phapulse.org.

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