Knoxville Hospital and Clinics receives patient satisfaction feedback on care given by our staff through a survey company called Press Ganey. Patients are able to rate their satisfaction to certain categories and questions as well as leave comments. These are patient quotes taken directly from various returned surveys.

“I have been to the Ottumwa Hospital and U of I in Iowa City. Never have I had such good treatment as I had at Knoxville Hospital. Thank you.”

“They treated me with respect, as always! (They are like family) (P.S.-None of my family works there)”

“You have an excellent facility.”

“Excellent treatment!”

“You have a wonderful staff—well trained and delightful. They’ve even called home to find out how I’m doing.”

“I live in Albia, work in Ottumwa and because of the quality of care, it’s worth the drive.”

“I’m just very pleased with the care I received!”

“I have never had any problems with all the staff. Great professionals!”

“Would never go anywhere else!!”

“Excellent nurses.”

“Very good food-wonderful people.”

“I felt I was taken care of very well! New to the area so was nice to have them there when needed.”

“I, as a parent, can say my son got the best care of anywhere around.”

In the busy hustle and bustle of the world today, it’s often hard to find time to take care of yourself let alone volunteer to help others. However, for David Thomas volunteering his time 2 to 3 days per week at Knoxville Hospital and Clinics came easy. “I wanted something to do and the hospital had always been so good to me and my family so I wanted to pay them back,” said Thomas.

Since January 2007 Thomas mainly assisted the surgery department at KHC. He welcomed the patients after they registered and then would call the surgery department to let them know their patient had arrived. Thomas would escort the patient to the pre-op area and kept the family updated about the surgery process. Thomas would direct the family to the consult room when the surgeon had finished and then to the recovery room so they could visit their loved one.

Although assisting the surgery department is what he did most often, he was always glad to help others as well. Thomas stuffed envelopes, put stickers on Reach Out and Read books for children, and greeted patients in the clinic among many other tasks.

Sue Flander, RN in the surgery department said, “He was always willing to help with anything. He would always go above and beyond.” Deb Dye, Patient and Family Services at KHC added, “He would come in at 7:30 in the morning and would not leave until the last patient had left, sometimes after 5 or 5:30.”

Thomas stated his favorite part of volunteering at KHC was working in the surgery waiting area where he could meet people and help put families of surgery patients at ease. “Overall,” he said, “volunteering  just makes you feel good to know you’re helping someone else. It keeps you part of the community even when you are retired. It keeps you active and you meet new people.”

Flander expressed Thomas was a part of the surgery department. “One Christmas I made scrub hats for everyone in the department, including Dave. He would wear it while he volunteered. He was like family. He would do anything for anyone here, including the patients.”

It seems Thomas felt the same way about KHC. “I enjoyed working with all of the staff. It was like a second family just like when I was teaching. I’m sure it’s a wonderful place to work as it was a wonderful place to volunteer. I will miss it dearly.”

A going away party is planned for David Thomas in conjunction with an Open House for the surgery department at KHC. It will be held Tuesday, October 13th from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. The remodeled surgery hallway, pre-op rooms and patient restroom will be showcased. During that time, KHC will also let David Thomas know how much he was appreciated and how much he will be missed.

In the months of July and August over 200 patients returned satisfaction surveys about the care they received at Knoxville Hospital and Clinics.  One of our surgery patients won a $25 gift certificate to a local business of his choice for turning in his survey. 

Positive comments as well as areas for improvement were mentioned among all the surveys returned.   Knoxville Hospital and Clinics values all of the feedback we receive as it lets us know how to better meet your healthcare needs.

In July we initiated an opinion drive to get more surveys returned more quickly.  We will continue to draw a $25 gift certificate winner on a monthly basis.  That is how important your opinion is to us.  So if you get one of our surveys, please share your feedback and mail the survey in.  Maybe you could win the gift certificate next month. 

More importantly, you will be letting us know how we can better meet your needs.  You will also provide feedback so we may measure how we perform compared to other healthcare organizations in the Midwest.  Thanks in advance for helping us improve!

In carrying the continuing theme of what our patients are saying about Knoxville Hospital & Clinics.  We are thrilled to be able to report that KHC ranks in the 92nd percentile of ALL Press Ganey’s 1,725  hospitals/health systems for the quarter ending June 30, 2009!

As with any great report card, we continue to work hard to become the top performer.  At the same time, we are very thankful and appreciative that our patients recognize the excellent compassionate care that the staff of KHC is known for.   

Many thanks to the great operating room staff, as well as our excellent medical staff in providing excellent care to our patients!

Press Ganey released their annual “Emergency Department Pulse Report – Patient Perspectives on American Health Care” report on June 23, 2009.  This report is a compilation of the experiences of nearly 1.4 million patients in 1,725 hospitals nationwide between January 1 and December 31, 2008.  Press Ganey is reporting that “patient satisfaction rose in 2008, continuing a five-year trend of improvement”. 

Included in the report is a table that shows the top ten metropolitan areas with the highest mean scores.  Press Ganey states that these areas are “setting a new standard for excellence”.  According to the report, the Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Pompano Beach FL area has the highest overall mean score at 84.8.  This means that 84.8 percent of the emergency department patients in that area rated their overall care as “Very Good”.

Where does the Emergency Room at Knoxville Hospital & Clincs rank?  89.3% of our patients rated their care as very good!!  Significantly higher than the highest metropolitan area in the country.  This high ranking shows that our patients report that their experience was better than 88% of Press Ganey’s 1,725 client hospitals or #207 out of 1,725!

While we are very thankful for the exceptional patient experience results from the outstanding care that our Emergency Department staff provides, we are continually working to improve our patient’s experiences and become the top ED in the country!

Click here for the full Press Ganey ED report…  http://www.pressganey.com/galleries/ED_Pulse_2009_files/2009_ED_Pulse_Report.pdf

The following are quotes taken directly from our patient satisfaction surveys.  This is the kind of care that we are proud to provide at KHC!

“Everything was first rate!  Our town and the people living here should be very proud of their hospital and clinic.  We are fortunate to have it!  Excellent care!”

“(I) definately recommend Natalie to others and have heard good comments from others about her care.”

“Came in from highway traveling for work.  Had rapid heartrate.  Able to stop with help from nurse.  Quick care given to get me back on the highway to meet flight in Des Moines.  Calls to house to check on status appreciated.  Was at work when calls were made.  No further problem.”

These comments mean so much to our hard-working staff, and are a testimony to their skill and dedication.  Way to go team!!

We received a great letter today from a former patient – this patient also submitted her letter to our local newspaper – The “Knoxville Journal Express”.  In the spirit of sharing what our patients are saying about us, below you can read what she wrote!  We would like to extend a warm thank you for her taking the time to write this!

June 15, 2009

Dear Editor:

My reasons for writing this letter are not one, but several.  My hope is ,that all that receive this paper, read this article.

In the early morning hours, (1:00A.M.), of May 3rd., 2009, I took very ill.  For various reasons, my heart decided to throw a fit!  It suddenly started beating so fast and hard, as it were coming out of my chest.  It was so out of control, my husband took my pulse, and could not count the beats, it was going so fast and skipping beats, it felt like a bowl of jelly being shaken violently.

My husband immediately said we were leaving for the ER.  Luckily we live 1 miles from the Knoxville Hospital.

As we arrived at the hospital, (ER), I stopped for only a brief second, as the words cleared my lips, that my hearts was in trouble, I was whisked to a treatment room, and had immediate and complete care.  I was hooked up to a monitor, and within moments, was given the necessary drugs to reduce this rapid heart pounding.  I was in this ER for 4 1/2 hours, to be stabilized before I was transported to Des Moines, Mercy Hospital.  The care I received in Knoxville Hospital ER was superior in every way, even far superior to the care I received the following 3 days in Mercy Hospital.  Not just the fact of administrating the correct drugs I so desperately needed, but their kindness and reassurance, that I also absolutely needed.  I kid you not, I was terrified.  No ER in the country could have been better in that way.  Their complete monitoring, knowledge of what drugs to give me, when to give it and how much, and their constant care, always with a positive attitude, and a smile, to reassure me that it would be all right, seemed at least one of them were with me at all times, during this very frightening experience.  I wish I could have gotten all the names, of the Nurses, Doctor, and Front Staff that helped me get through that terrifying night, but I only got one full name and it would be very unfair, as they all worked as a team, and they all deserve the credit.  We feel these people went much beyond, their so called “Call of Duty”, on their shift that night.

Since that night, I have been doctoring at Knoxville Clinic and have needed Lab work on a regular basis, and again I receive wonderful care from all.  I am so thankful we have such a group of Medical Professionals here in Knoxville.  Thank You!

So…., heads up everyone, the next time someone tells you negative things about Knoxville Hospital and Clinic or Knoxville Hospital ER is, please remember this letter, and remember that I feel that I owe this facility and their staff my life.

Sincerely,
Ruth Ann Wagner
Knoxville, Iowa

Many hospitals and healthcare organizations produce advertising and marketing campaigns encouraging people to “choose their hospital” for this reason or that reason.  These campaigns are most often PR or administrative quotes.  Perhaps it is just the cynic (realist) in me, but aren’t they paid to say and believe those things?

To me, the most geniune statements about why a person should choose one hospital over another or one healthcare organization over another comes from its patients and customers.

The leadership at KHC takes what our patients say about us very seriously – we have teams of folks dedicated to improving the patient experience at our facility and are constantly monitoring our patient survey responses.

Below you will see some quotes from just the surveys that were returned to us in the past two days.

• “Cris was excellent.  Dr. Dillon was very kind.  Constantly refer friends.”
• “Wheeled from lobby to treatment immediately.  “Jenny was awesome!  Staff was great!  They were caring, informative and had me back to breathing normally and on my way to the races!  Very scary day for me – but can’t say enough positive about the care i received!”
• As the wife of **** I was very happy for the care ***** was given while in emergency.  Thank you all.”
• “Friendly and courteous at front reception desk as well as helpful in scheduling future appts.  Physician very helpful in concern with my medical and over-all health.  Nursing staff excellent.  The overall practice and reallocation of staff have made a tremendous difference in the clinic.”
• “Excellent care in every respect.”
• “Wonderful nurses.  Food was very, very good.”
• “Great service.  I definitely will be returning!”
• “Technologist was very nice & knowledgeable.  Natalie R. is a great person & I think an seet to your clinic.  She will be my regular care giver in the future.”
• “I have recommended Becky McKay to all of my friends and family.  Because of Becky McKay and Ann Fee and how nice they are i have recommended Knoxville Hospital to family and friend

We would like to thank our patients for taking their valuable time completing our surveys and telling us how we did and what we could do better.  I would also invite you to post comments on our blog regarding your experiences at KHC.

Did you know that hospitals publicly report their patient’s perspectives of the care that they received at their facility? 

HCAHPS which stands for Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems – whew..  only the government could come up with a name such as this…  anyway – HCAHPS is a national, standardized survey of hospital patients – it was created to publicly report the patient’s perspective of hospital care.  The survey asks a random sample of recently discharged patients about important aspects of their hospital experience.

The HCAHPS results posted on www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov allows consumers to make fair and objective comparisons between hospitals, and of individual hospitals to state and national benchmarks, on ten important measures of patients’ perspectives of care.

HCAHPS is a voluntary program – according to www.hcahpsonline.com – as of March 31, 2009 only 65% of the hospitals in the country are participating in the program.  In Iowa, many of the rural hospitals do NOT participate in this program.

You should be very proud to know that your hometown hospital is one of the participating hospitals!  We very much believe in this program and have a strong desire to hear from our patients about their experiences at our facilities.

You should also very proud to know KHC ranks ABOVE both the national and state of Iowa averages in 6 of the 10 patient experience measurements!

We are very proud of these results – but are far from satisfied as our mission and vision is to “provide expectional healthcare services” and be “the premier healthcare facility in south central Iowa”.  We monitor these results on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to identify trends and opportunities to both celebrate our successes as well as improve our processes. 

You can find the HCAHPS data on www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov for more information about HCAHPS data for both KHC and other hospitals that participate in the program.  We encourage you to utilize this website to help you make your own healthcare decisions.

GOAL:  We will meet the needs and exceed the expectations of those we serve
MEASUREMENT:  We will achieve the Press Ganey patient satisfaction scores as defined in the strategic financial plan

OBJECTIVE

• Continue with the implementation of the Studer processes, including the “Firestarter” program
• Manage service scores on a weekly basis to make more timely corrections
• Provide consistently excellent service
• Increase the return rate for all patient satisfaction surveys
• Develop community wellness initiatives consistent with Marion County’s Healthy People 2010 goals