Northern Hospital of Surry County has been recognized with an Excellence through Insight award for Most Improved Emergency Department Experience in the Medium Hospital by HealthStream, Inc. Medium hospitals are those with between 100 and 249 beds.
Northern Hospital has been awarded this honor for commitment to excellence in patient experience. To qualify for an award, a hospital must have been a client of HealthStream in 2015 and scored in the 75th percentile or better. Northern was chosen for receiving the highest, most improved ratings from among HealthStream’s clients, as well as exceeding industry standards.
“This is really great news for the Emergency Department, and Northern Hospital,” said Karen Hagan, Director of Emergency Services at Northern. “It’s not easy to change the culture of a department, or the public’s perception, but our staff has worked incredibly hard to make that happen. These positive changes, along with ever increasing volumes of Emergency patients, really speak to the dedication and commitment of the staff. I am so proud of their hard work and continued efforts toward improvement.”
The hospital contracts with HealthStream, Inc. to conduct patient experience surveys for a random selection of both hospital inpatients (those admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay) and a random selection of patients who visit Northern’s Emergency Department. Patients selected for the surveys are chosen randomly by HealthStream. These survey results are calculated and shared with Northern, allowing the hospital valuable insights to improve the patient experience. Hospitals across the nation contract with outside organizations such as HealthStream to conduct these patient surveys.
The Emergency Department award is just the latest of many honors bestowed on Northern. The hospital has been consecutively rated an A+ for safety in the hospital setting, most recently receiving the top rating for Spring 2016. In June, the hospital was recognized on the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals list and was listed as one of the Top 100 Great Community Hospitals by Beckers’ Institute, a leading healthcare industry publication. Northern was the only North Carolina Hospital to receive both awards.
