December 19, 2003
HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER NAMED 2003 CONSUMER CHOICE FOR BERGEN AND PASSAIC COUNTIES
Hackensack University Medical Center was recently named a 2003 Consumer Choice Award recipient for Bergen and Passaic counties by the National Research Corporation (NRC), a leader in the healthcare performance measurement industry. Hackensack University Medical Center has been honored with this recognition since the inception of this award. This is the eighth year in a row that the medical center has been honored with this distinction.

Each year NRC, a recognized innovator and leader in healthcare performance measurement, honors those hospitals whose consumers rate as having the best quality and image, based on their nationally syndicated Healthcare Market Guide study of nearly 140, 000 households. 

NRC President and CEO Michael Hays said winners are determined by consumer perceptions on multiple quality band image ratings collected in the company’s annual NRC Healthcare Market Guide Study.®

"Consumers continue to play an increasing role in their selection of hospitals and in the care they receive," said Mr. Hays. “As more information is made available to consumers, we expect to see this trend increase. With the industry’s focus on quality and consumerism, we are pleased to recognize the facilities named as leaders by those they serve. The winners deserve recognition for the emphasis they have placed on providing quality care.”

The 2003 Healthcare Market Guide is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. No other study used to rate hospitals contains more consumer responses than NRC’s study.

"This is the eighth consecutive year that we have been singled out with the Consumer Choice Award and we are just as proud as we were in 1995 when we first received this honor," said John P. Ferguson, president and chief executive officer of Hackensack University Medical Center. " The Consumer Choice Award not only rewards the work we do, but reminds us that our first and most important focus is our patients and what we can do to always exceed their expectations.”

Hackensack University Medical Center, a teaching and research hospital affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state of New Jersey. The medical center has been honored since 1995 as the first hospital in New Jersey to receive the Magnet Award for nursing excellence from The American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the second hospital in the nation to receive a four-year redesignation of this award. The medical center was redesignated again in 2003.

HealthGrades®, the national healthcare quality firm honored Hackensack University Medical Center with the 2003 HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™. The award places Hackensack University Medical Center among a group of less than 200 hospitals or 3.3 percent nationally who are at the pinnacle of quality performance across numerous clinical service lines.

In the fall of 2003, the medical center was recognized for service excellence under the new J.D. Power and Associates Distinguished Hospital Program.SM This distinction acknowledges a strong commitment from HUMC to provide an outstanding patient experience. The service excellence distinction was determined by surveying a random sample of recently discharged patients from HUMC on their perceptions of their hospital stay and comparing the results to the national benchmark established by the J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Hospital Service Performance Study.SM The research identified five key drivers of patient satisfaction with their overall hospital experience: dignity and respect; speed and efficiency; comfort; information and communication; and emotional support.

Hackensack University Medical Center is one of the first two hospitals in the nation to receive The Governor’s Gold Award for Performance Excellence. The Quality New Jersey’s 2001 award is based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award established by the U.S. Congress in 1987 to improve organizational performance and to enhance the nation’s ability in the global marketplace. This is the highest award level and indicative that the medical center has sound systematic approaches and fact-based improvement processes in place.



 

 

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