OLBH receives patient satisfaction awards

Staff report
The Independent

RUSSELL May 08, 2008 08:22 pm

— Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital has been recognized for services ranked among the top 10 percent in the nation according to OLBH patients and the research firm Professional Research Consultants, Inc.
The hospital received four five-star distinctions from PRC and a four-star distinction. The number of five-star honors is an OLBH record.
OLBH received its five-star patient satisfaction honors, indicating ranking in the top 10 percent in the United States, for its Bellefonte Pediatrics practice, Bellefonte Women’s Care, the hospital’s 4-Center and its outpatient gastrointestinal/endoscopy services.
The four-star honor went to the overall quality of care expressed by the hospital’s inpatients. The four-star designation indicates OLBH’s patient satisfaction scores in the award area was amongst the top 25 percent in the nation.
The awards speak to the teamwork among physicians, nurses and support staff at Bellefonte, said Keelie Brown, site manager for Bellefonte Pediatrics and Bellefonte Women’s Care.
“It’s a team effort from the first person in the office all the way to follow-up care,” she said. “Patients are saying they like coming here, they get good care and they would recommend it to their friends.”
PRC is a marketing research organization for the healthcare industry; it surveys hospital patients on satisfaction with the services they received.
“To receive a single five-star recognition would be a great accomplishment worth celebrating,” Mark Gordon, OLBH CEO, said. “To receive four such recognitions in addition to a four-star recognition is an extraordinary milestone.”
“In the past 30 years we’ve never seen hospitals more determined to exceed customers’ expectations than the hospitals we recognized this year,” said Joe M. Inguanzo, Ph.D., PRC president and CEO.
In addition to the patient satisfaction awards, Bellefonte received two four-star awards from PRC based on physician satisfaction scores. OLBH’s laboratory services and its anesthesia services were honored with awards based on the satisfaction of the OLBH medical staff with those services.
The PRC awards are based on the percentage of patients who rate a service as “excellent” for the overall quality of care question.