Sacred Heart Press Box

For the 12th year in a row, National Research Corp. has named Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola as the area’s leader in quality health care and winner of the 2007 Consumer Choice Award.

Sacred Heart’s rating as the area’s top hospital for quality came from an independent national survey of area residents conducted by National Research Corporation (NRC). NRC is an independent nationwide leader in performance measurement with more than 20 years of experience in the field.

The company named Sacred Heart as winner of the Consumer Choice Award because Sacred Heart is being rated by area health care consumers as their top choice for:

• Best overall quality
• Best doctors
• Best nurses
• Best image

Consumers in 190 markets across the country rated hospitals in their areas through the written survey used to develop NRC’s Healthcare Market Guide. In the Pensacola area, residents surveyed ranked Sacred Heart as the most preferred hospital by a margin of more than 2 to 1 over competing hospitals. In the categories of orthopedic treatment/surgery, weight loss surgery, cancer treatment, heart care, and maternity/obstetrics care, Sacred Heart again was rated No. 1 by a similar margin.

“Our selection for this award is a great tribute to all who work at Sacred Heart, especially our physicians and nurses,” says Patrick J. Madden, president and CEO of Sacred Heart Health System. “We continue to look for ways to meet the growing needs of families throughout our region, from updating our facilities and services, such as recent enhancements in our Women’s Hospital, to adding new, more convenient offices to access our physicians in outlying communities.”

Each year, NRC honors those hospitals whose consumers rate as having the best quality and image, based on its nationally syndicated NRC Healthcare Market Guide study.

The Consumer Choice Award reflects the growing role consumer choice is playing in the healthcare field. “Consumers play an increasing role in selecting their healthcare facilities and services,” says Michael D. Hays, NRC’s Chief Executive Officer. “As more healthcare quality information is made publicly available, we expect this trend to increase. Organizations like Sacred Heart are selected for the Consumer Choice Awards by the community residents they serve. We are pleased to honor these facilities for their dedication quality healthcare in the eyes of their patients.”

The 2007/08 Healthcare Market Guide is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. No other study used to measure hospital performance and preferences contains more consumer responses than NRC’s study. Results are carefully tabulated and analyzed to ensure that they reflect the views of citizens in the local communities that are surveyed.
The 225 winners of the Consumer Choice Award in cities across the country were announced in the magazine Modern Healthcare. A complete list of winners can be found at www.nationalresearch.com.

Key services of Sacred Heart Health System include a 458-bed hospital in Pensacola, a Regional Heart and Vascular Institute, Children’s and Women’s Hospital, a Level II Trauma Center, a comprehensive Cancer Center, a home health agency, a 120-bed nursing home and a large regional network of primary care and specialty doctors stretching from Foley, Ala. to Panama City Beach, Fla. Sacred Heart is part of Ascension Health, the nation’s largest system of not-for-profit health care facilities.

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Labels: Awards, NRC, Quality

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The American Dental Association has chosen Sacred Heart Health System’s Pediatric Dental Clinic as winner of the Meritorious 2007 Community Dentistry Award.

The competitive national award is recognition of a non-profit organization that has improved oral health in the local community. The Pediatric Dental Clinic was one of only three community dental programs in the United States to win a Meritorious award.

As part of the award, the American Dental Association granted $2,500 to the Sacred Heart Foundation for use at the dental clinic.

“Sacred Heart and our dental clinic staff are thrilled to receive this prestigious award,” said Dr. Carl Wright, the clinic’s director and dentist who has developed and expanded the clinic’s programs during the past seven years. “We are grateful to be recognized for the clinic's work in providing care to needy children who otherwise would not be able to receive quality dental care.”

The Dental Clinic for children was established by Sacred Heart in 1997 with the help of the late Dr. Lynn F. Johnston, who served as the clinic’s first dentist, and Cynthia Rivers, nurse manager of Sacred Heart’s Pediatric Care Center. The clinic is a partnership between Sacred Heart Health System and the Florida Department of Health, Escambia County Health Department.

The facility has a staff of 13 people and is funded by the Escambia County Health Department along with donations received by the Sacred Heart Foundation. Support also is provided by several local dentists who donate their time and services to clinic patients.

Dr. Dan Henry of Pensacola, immediate past president of the Florida Dental Association, offered his congratulations to Dr. Wright and several local dentists who donate time and services to help the clinic’s patients. “Our profession is fortunate to have caring dentists such as you working tirelessly and often without recognition, for the benefit of those who can not help themselves. You and the volunteers at the Lynn F Johnson Pediatric Dental Clinic are servants of the highest caliber.”

The Dental Clinic aims to children from low-income families, especially those who qualify for Medicaid or have no insurance. Located in the Escambia County Health Department on Old Palafox Road in the Ensley area, the Clinic sees more than 6,000 patient visits each year.

It provides preventive services such as cleaning, x-rays and exams, as well as restorative services such as fillings, extractions, crowns and partial dentures. In addition, the Dental Clinic focuses on community education, with a special focus on preventing tooth decay in children and encouraging healthy dental and eating habits. A dental hygienist visits elementary schools, talks to groups of new mothers, and speaks to other parent groups to spread this message of prevention.

For more information about the clinic’s services, please contact Anna Church at 494-7150.

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Labels: Awards, Dentist, Dentistry, Pediatric Dental Clinic

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Sacred Heart Rated No. 1 for Quality

Pediatric Dental Clinic Wins Community Dentistry Award