Staff Report

 

Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital (OLBH) is among the top 5 percent in the nation for patient experience as measured by Healthgrades, the leading online resource that helps consumers search, evaluate, compare and connect with physician and hospitals. It is the sixth straight year OLBH has received Healthgrades’ Outstanding Patient Experience Award and the fourth-straight year the hospital placed in the top 5 percent in the nation.

To be eligible for the Healthgrades 2013 Outstanding Patient Experience Award, OLBH met the clinical quality threshold for the award and have data for a minimum number of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys. The HCAHPS survey is a standardized survey developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, along with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to measure patients’ perspectives on hospital care:

• Clinical Quality Threshold – OLBH ranked among the top 80 percent of hospitals for clinical quality as ranked by average z-score across the conditions and procedures that Healthgrades evaluates using Medicare data.

• Minimum Number of HCAHPS Surveys – OLBH had data for at least 100 HCAHPS surveys to reliably assess performance.

“At OLBH we have invested our resources into providing the best possible patient experience in regards to care,” Kevin Halter, OLBH CEO, said. “This award demonstrates that our investment has produced its intended results. Since this award is based on patient surveys this is really a “people’s choice” award. It is very rewarding that patients have once again reported we are accomplishing our goals. I would like to thank OLBH’s hard working employees and physicians for making this award possible with the excellence in patient care that they’ve established.”

OLBH is the only hospital in the region (Huntington-Ashland, W.Va.-Ky-Ohio, as defined by the federal government’s Office of Management and Budget) and the state of Kentucky to be ranked among the top 5 percent in the nation for Outstanding Patient Experience for four years in a row. OLBH is the only hospital in the region and one of only two in all of Kentucky to be named one of Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award Recipients for six-consecutive years.

“As hospitals continue to struggle with the delivery of high-quality, safe care in the face of mounting financial and regulatory pressures, the hospitals who have achieved Healthgrades 2013 Outstanding Patient Experience Award stand above the rest in terms of providing the most positive experience for patients during their hospital stay,” said Evan Marks, EVP Informatics and Strategy. “This exceptional performance reflects a commitment to superior quality of clinical care.”

For more information about Healthgrades, to download a full copy of the report or for information about hospital and physician quality, visit: www.healthgrades.com. For more information about OLBH, visit the hospital’s website at www.olbh.com.