Alton Memorial’s Outpatient Surgery and Medical Office Building B Lab earned 5-Star Awards in the 2024 Excellence in Healthcare Awards this year.
“Our team members take great pride in the work they do and value the time they get to spend with our patients,” says Cathy Wagner, manager of Outpatient Surgery. “They do their best to make sure every patient and their family members have an enjoyable visit while going through the surgical experience. They ensure that patients feel they are being cared for with dignity, respect and compassion. They also do whatever they can to minimize the natural stress patients have associated with having surgery.”
“The MOB B lab draw site is composed of a phenomenal team, from Registration to Lab,” says Ruth Tepen, manager of the Lab. “This staff is truly dedicated to giving 100% to the patients and providers they serve. The draw site’s patient experience comments always center around excellence, professionalism, knowledge, efficiency, convenience and personal attention.
“Many patients are apprehensive about getting their blood drawn. This can be due to fear of needles, previous bad experiences or knowing you are a difficult stick (smaller veins, rolling veins). The MOB B lab draw site staff members continually work at improving the patient experience by making the patient feel comfortable and safe with the process. They are a true asset to Alton Memorial Hospital.”
The honors come as no surprise to AMH president Dave Braasch, who says that “everyone in our hospital works extremely hard to earn the respect and trust of our patients, physicians, and the communities we serve.”
“I am extremely proud of the folks that received these 5-star awards,” Braasch says. “They must provide extraordinary service every day to every patient in order to receive this kind of national recognition through PRC. Delivery on our values of Compassion, Respect, Excellence, Safety and Teamwork one patient at a time is everyone’s priority.”
Providers rated nationally
The 2024 Excellence in Healthcare Awards are based on data from patient surveys for services performed in 2023. Professional Research Consultants Inc. (PRC) is a national health care research company that contracts with health care organizations nationwide to conduct patient surveys.
The patient responses are combined into PRC’s database to determine the nation’s best health care providers based on patient experience metrics. The awards recognize the very top health care organizations and providers in categories including individual inpatient units, outpatient facilities and departments, clinic providers, and overall hospital experiences.
The Top Performer Award recognizes outpatient service lines, inpatient units, outpatient clinics and physicians/providers scoring at or above the 100th percentile in PRC’s database. The 5-Star Award goes to inpatient facilities, inpatient units, hospitalist and emergency medicine doctors, outpatient service lines, outpatient clinics, and emergency departments scoring in the top 10% in PRC’s database.
The 4-Star Award is given to hospitalist and emergency medicine doctors, inpatient facilities and emergency departments scoring in the top 25% in PRC’s database. New in 2024, the BJC Patient Experience team is also adding a special Honor Roll category for providers who had at least 20 surveys returned but did not meet the required number of surveys returned to qualify for the award.
Top photo: Outpatient Surgery received its PRC Award April 29. AMH president Dave Braasch presented the plaque to, from left, Ann Wright, Beth Eyers, Laura Schrodt, Crystal Joy, Anita Lucas, Heidi Noel (holding the plaque) and Allen Branson-Dorris.
Bottom Photo: The Medical Office Building B Lab received its PRC Award on May 1. Pictured are, left to right, Latonya Cooper, Heather Mercier, Melisa Goheen, Sarah Kodros and manager Ruth Tepen.