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SGMC Receives Women’s Choice Award® for Providing Outstanding Overall Patient Experience

Posted on: August 22nd, 2014

8/22/2014

Recognized as One of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Patient ExperienceValdosta, GA – August 25, 2014 – South Georgia Medical Center has received the 2014 Women’s Choice Award for being voted one of America’s Best Hospitals for Patient Experience by women.

This award identifies the country’s best healthcare institutions based on robust criteria that consider female patient satisfaction and what women say they want from a hospital including quality physician communications, the responsiveness of nurses and support staff, cleanliness and trusted referrals from other women. ‘We’ve identified America’s Best Hospitals across our nation to help women make smart healthcare choices for themselves and their family members.

Being treated with the proper level of care impacts one’s health, well-being and healing so it is critical for women to know those hospitals that have demonstrated the highest level of quality care to their patients, with a special focus on the female experience,” says Delia Passi, CEO and founder of WomenCertified®, home to the Women’s Choice Award, and former publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines. “We’re putting the power of choice in the woman’s hands with the information to simplify her choice.”Hospitals named as an America’s Best are then invited to join an elite network of brands, across multiple industries, which carry the Women’s Choice Award, symbolizing their commitment to women.

“This is quite an honor! The caring and stewardship of our affiliated physicians, nurses, and staff validate the tradition of quality patient care we proudly deliver to the communities we serve,” explains J. Randall Sauls, MBA, FACHE, CEO and Administrator of South Georgia Medical Center. “SGMC, its campuses and affiliates are focused on keeping your health a high priority.”Being named and recognized as a hospital of choice among women represents the strongest and most important consumer message in today’s healthcare marketplace considering that women account for 90% of all healthcare decisions for herself and her family (American Academy of Family Physicians).

When patients have a highly engaged, positive experience with their hospital, it’s a win-win situation. Hospital reputation is everything according to a study by the National Research Corporation Market Insights Survey, the largest healthcare consumer survey in the U.S.“A woman expects more from a hospital experience and takes her role as the primary healthcare decision maker seriously,” Passi adds. “More than ever she is self-managing her care by choosing her hospital prior to choosing her doctors. This allows her more control over her hospital stay outcome based on the quality of care she can expect from a Women’s Choice Award hospital.”

The America’s 100 Best Hospitals scoring process is unique in that it is the ONLY national list that focuses on female patient satisfaction. The process begins with scores derived for each hospital in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) database. The score takes a subset of the questions HCAHPS uses that research and experience shows are more important to women than to men. Weight is applied to each of those questions to adjust for relative importance to arrive at a numerical score.

Additionally, scoring incorporates WomenCertified’s in-depth research on customer satisfaction among women, including a joint study on customer satisfaction by gender conducted with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The scoring is totally objective and uniform. The best 100 scores in each of the four size categories determine America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Outstanding Patient Experience award winners. The four size categories include hospitals with up to 100 beds, 101-250 beds, 251-400 beds, and 401-plus beds.

WomenCertified accepts absolutely no payment in exchange for placement on the list.“Recognizing the best hospitals nationwide that are women-friendly and align with women’s identified preferences is important to our mission, where women help other women with tough, consumer decisions,” Passi concludes. “Most importantly, when a woman sees the Women’s Choice Award at her local hospital, she’ll know the hospital values her experience as a critical component of her and her loved one’s care.”

About the Women’s Choice AwardThe Women’s Choice Award sets the standard for helping women make smarter choices by collectively identifying the brands, products, and services most recommended and trusted by women; those that deliver a customer experience worthy of their recommendation. Awards are based on surveys of thousands of women, as well as research conducted in partnership with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania on what drives the consumer experience for women versus men.

As the leading advocate for female consumers, WomenCertified Inc., home of the Women’s Choice Award, created the first national award based on the ratings and preferences of women to provide them with a collective voice. Women can make their preferences heard and be part of the mission toward a million voices strong by visiting the Women’s Choice Award’s official website at http://www.womenschoiceaward.com/join-the-million/ and joining the network.