EvergreenHealth earns nationally recognized Consumer Choice Award for the Puget Sound region

KIRKLAND, Wash., Oct. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- EvergreenHealth today announced it has earned a Consumer Choice Award for its high-rated quality and patient experience by National Research Corporation, a nationally trusted data research firm, which places EvergreenHealth as one of two top-performing hospitals in the Puget Sound area based on consumer feedback. 

Kirkland-based EvergreenHealth and its network of primary, urgent and emergency care centers share the award with other outstanding institutions, including Seattle-based Swedish Medical Center in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett market, and other health care leaders like the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.  

The 17^th annual National Research Consumer Choice Award recognizes exemplary performance in hospitals across the country by compiling a range of data collected by surveys of primary healthcare decision-makers in 270,000 households nationwide. Respondents identify the hospitals in their area that they think offer the best quality and image and care from best teams of doctors and nurses. This year EvergreenHealth is a recipient in the Seattle market, which includes Snohomish and King County.  

"The highest honor we earn is our patients' trust and preference for the care we provide at EvergreenHealth," said EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte. "We're committed to serving our families and recognize our providers, staff and volunteers for their skill and dedication to exceptional patient care and service, and for keeping the voice of the patient at the center of all we do."

Hospitals are recognized for high marks within consumer perceptions on multiple quality and image ratings collected by National Research over an 11-month survey period. 

National Research analyzes consumer-reported data, which names 3,200 hospitals across the country and ranks the highest-performing institutions in markets defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, and publishes the winning hospitals in an annual report in Modern Healthcare magazine.

"Customer-centric care is based on the notion of extending patient-centered care to all healthcare consumers who are taking the initiative with their healthcare decisions and demanding higher quality. It advocates an all-inclusive, cross-continuum view of care experiences for all healthcare participants and stakeholders," said Susan L. Henricks, president and chief operating officer for National Research Corporation. "The goal of this empowering movement and quality improvement initiatives from providers is to provide better outcomes—and create positive consumer perceptions. The Consumer Choice Awards recognizes hospitals that patients have rated as the most preferred places to receive care according to quality and image."

This award complements other EvergreenHealth achievements including two consecutive HealthGrades Outstanding Patient Experience Awards™, ranking EvergreenHealth in the top 10 percent of hospitals nationwide. In 2012, HealthGrades also named EvergreenHealth a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence for the fourth consecutive year. Additionally, the hospital was named second in the state of Washington for Patient Safety by Consumer Reports.

National Research Corporation has been at the forefront of patient-centered care for more than 30 years. Today the company's focus on empowering customer-centric healthcare across the continuum extends patient-centered care to incorporate families, communities, employees, senior housing residents and other stakeholders.

To learn more about EvergreenHealth, visit www.evergreenhealth.com or call the 24-hour Nurse Navigators and Healthline at 425.899.3000. 

About EvergreenHealth

EvergreenHealth, a public hospital district and community-based healthcare organization established in 1972, offers a breadth of services and programs that is among the most comprehensive in the region. More than 950 physicians provide clinical excellence within more than 80 specialties, including cardiac, oncology, surgical care, orthopedics, a neuroscience institute, women's and children's services, hospice care, pulmonary care, a sleep disorders center and home care services.  EvergreenHealth serves more than 400,000 residents in its primary service area of northern King and southern Snohomish counties with EvergreenHealth Primary Care, a network of primary and urgent care practices, and its main hospital campus in Kirkland, Wash.  EvergreenHealth also provides emergency care at two sites; its main hospital campus and the EvergreenHealth Redmond Medical Center.  In addition to clinical care, EvergreenHealth offers extensive community health outreach and education programs, anchored by EvergreenHealth Nurse Navigators and Healthline, a 24/7 nurse consultation service. For more information, visit www.evergreenhealth.com.

CONTACTS:

Kay Taylor
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
EvergreenHealth
425.899.2604
[email protected]

Kristi Clough
Firmani + Associates Inc.
206.443.9357
[email protected]

SOURCE EvergreenHealth