Local hospital receives the 2013 Women's Choice Award, which identifies the country's best health care institutions based on patient satisfaction and what women say they want from a hospital.
Lafayette General Medical Center received the 2013 Women's Choice Award after having been voted one of America's Best Hospitals for Patient Experience by women for a second consecutive year.
LGMC's new look after its $52.5 million renovation is complete
This distinction is the only award that identifies the country's best health care institutions based on patient satisfaction and what women say they want from a hospital. The criteria include quality physician communications, responsiveness of nurses and support staff, cleanliness and trusted referrals from other women.
"Right now, the national conversation about health care is focused on politics, insurance companies and the bottom line,' which ignores what matters most to the patient their experience with health care providers," says Delia Passi, CEO and founder of WomenCertified, 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 choices."
Hospitals named as 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.
Women make or influence more than 90 percent of health care decisions for themselves and their families, according to a study published by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Hospitals qualify for the highly selective annual list of America's Best Hospitals for Patient Experience based on an in-depth proprietary scoring process. The scoring incorporates a national, standardized survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and an analysis that weighs criteria identified as the most important to women for patient satisfaction. Additionally, the 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 America's Best Hospitals for Patient Experience by WomenCertified consists of four categories, with a total of 400 hospitals recognized nationwide. They include hospitals with up to 100 beds, 101-250 beds, 251-400 beds and 401-plus beds. The 100 best scores in each category determine the award winners.
WomenCertified accepts no payment in exchange for placement on the list.
A 377-bed hospital, LGMC is in the midst of a $52.5 million renovation to enlarge and upgrade its emergency department and surgical platform. It also is adding a new parking garage in the parking area between the hospital and the Heymann Performing Arts Center.
Read more about the project in the next issue of ABiz, out on newsstands Aug. 22.