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Spencer Hospital has been named a 2009 Summit Award winner, marking the third straight year its emergency department has been recognized by Press Ganey Associates Inc. The Summit Award recognizes top performing facilities that sustain the highest level of customer satisfaction for three or more consecutive years. Spencer Hospital's emergency department is one of the 14 emergency departments from a comparison pool of nearly 1,000 hospitals across the country to receive this prestigious honor in 2009.
"Our goal has always been to provide the same quality care we would expect to receive," commented Deb Brodersen, emergency department director. "That personal attention to detail and concern for each patient has yielded patient satisfaction scores above the 93rd percentile since the spring of 2001. During that time, we've achieved the 99th percentile in patient satisfaction for twelve quarters, including two quarters this year."
Brodersen added, "We know that a trip to the emergency department is highly stressful and we want to provide not only the best care possible, but also the best comfort and reassurance possible for our patients. We are human so we know that we may miss the mark on providing optimal satisfaction every time; however, since we are human, our staff is able to provide an empathetic and human touch to their professional responsibilities."
Brenda Tiefenthaler, vice president of Patient Care Services, said, "We are very proud of our emergency department and all the hospital staff who support the emergency department. Our staff is dedicated to providing our patients and visitors with great care and comfort."
Press Ganey currently partners with more than 10,000 health care facilities -- including nearly 40 percent of U.S. hospitals -- to measure and improve the quality of their care. The company's databases are the largest in the industry, and allow facilities nationwide to benchmark their results against peer organizations.
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Unfortunately we had to use the Spencer Hospital facilities more than we wanted to in October. It really does rank right up there and that's not the ER. The new addition and rooms are great. The staff is excellent. My mom was so impressed that she took photos to show her hospital administrator where she lives. She also plans to retire here someday because of amenities like the hospital both for volunteering opportunities and health issues.
My family lives in Spencer & many of them have used the Hospital there which is their choice. Personally, if I was having a major issue and my choice was to walk across the street to Spencer Hospital ER or drive back to Council Bluffs where I live which is 160 miles away. I'd take my chances and drive to Council Bluffs to the ER. My dealings with Spencer Hospital have been less than pleasant. Travis Waldstein
I have to say the ER is OK; I grew up near Storm Lake and I've told my husband if anything ever happened to me, call my doctor in Storm Lake.
I felt compelled to respond to other's disappointment with their care in the ER in Spencer. I can assure you that some people's perception when they are frustrated, can be quite different than what truly happened. I am positive that NO ONE has ever sat in the ER, struggling for breath, being ignored by the nurses, without proper treatment being administered. There are 8 treatment rooms in the ER and you can't see all of the others from any one room, so one mustn't assume there aren't other patients. Also-people may not realize, but there are protocols that the nurses follow to begin treatment before the doctors examine the patient. The doctor is kept fully aware of what's happening with the patient, even if he isn't in the room for the first part of treatment. Undoubtedly, if the situation is urgent, the doctor will be there. And again, the perception of time is skewed in the ER. Minutes often feel like an hour to the patient. Also-please remember what may seem like an emergency to a frightened mom or dad-will be treated objectively and given the treatment and the true priority it deserves. The nurses are extremely well educated, compassionate, and ready to handle emergencies. Not everyone that comes to the ER is having an emergency-it is the staff's job to remain calm, objective, and determine if there is-and act accordingly. The level of care they provide is truly amazing! Congratulations on the Summit award!!
I too felt compelled to respond to the negative comments about the Spencer Hospital ER. I think we are lucky in rural Iowa to have a top notch hospital and emergency department that we have. I have been to other ER's in bigger city hospitals where the wait to see a doctor can be up to 8 hours. Myself and my family has used the ER in Spencer on several occasions and have always received excellent and appropriate care. The emergency department is not always based on first come first served, they are trained to take care of the most critical patients first. I have 100% faith that our ER provides just that. I'm proud our hospital in rural Northwest Iowa has received recognition for its wonderful care they provide. As the article said the Press Ganey is based soley on patients survey of the care they received, I think that speaks for itself. I too would like to congratulate the ER for its wonderful acheivement.