Virginia Mason Earns Outstanding Patient Experience Award for 3rd Consecutive Year

Virginia Mason was named a recipient of the Healthgrades’ Outstanding Patient Experience Award for the third consecutive year.

“When patients come to a hospital, they expect great service and a positive experience just like any other industry,” said Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD. “This award is due to the hard work of all our team members dedicated to ensuring every patient has a remarkable experience at Virginia Mason.”

This distinction makes Virginia Mason the only hospital in Seattle named a three-time award recipient, and places the organization among the top 10 percent of hospitals in the nation for patient experience. Also, this makes Virginia Mason the only hospital in the state to be named among America’s 100 Best Hospitals and among America’s best for Patient Experience.

Healthgrades, an online resource for information about physicians and hospitals, evaluated Virginia Mason’s performance as assessed by the hospital’s patients across 27 different questions that roll up to 10 distinct measures. Ranging from cleanliness and noise levels in a patient room, to factors such as pain management and responsiveness to patient’s needs, the measures also include whether a patient would recommend the hospital to friends or family.

Healthgrades evaluated 3,575 hospitals that submitted patient surveys to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, covering admissions from January 2013 through December 2013, to assess those hospitals that are leading the nation in delivering the best patient experience. To be eligible for the patient experience award, hospitals had to meet additional clinical quality requirements. This ensures recipient hospitals are delivering strong outcomes in addition to an excellent patient experience during the hospitalization.

Only top-performing hospitals received the 2015 award, and Virginia Mason is one of six award winners in Washington State.

“Today, more than ever before, consumers face decisions – and research their options – relating to where to obtain care, so factors like patient experience are increasingly important,” said Evan Marks, chief strategy officer, Healthgrades. “Consumers can have confidence that hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades 2015 Outstanding Patient Experience Award deliver a positive experience for patients during their hospital stay.”