Among the more than 1100 hospitals nationwide whose patients are surveyed by Press Ganey Associates, Grace Cottage’s patients gave their hospital stay an overall assessment of 97.6%, the highest among all Vermont hospitals. This most recent Patient Satisfaction Survey places Grace Cottage Hospital in the top 3% of hospitals nationwide.

The report contains results from patient surveys regarding every step of the hospital process from admitting to discharge – including meals, physician care, nursing care, and treatment of visitors and family by staff members. Meals and physician care were ranked in the top 11% of all hospitals evaluated by patients via the nationwide surveys, treatment of visitors and family and the discharge process in the top 9%; tests and treatments, nursing care, and room satisfaction at Grace Cottage were ranked in the top 8%. The discharge process was ranked in the top 4%.

The confidential patient satisfaction survey was developed by Press Ganey Associates, a nationally-recognized independent hospital survey company that is used by all hospitals in Vermont. The surveys are mailed to patients’ homes after their stay in the hospital and includes more than 40 questions about their hospital visit; responses are reported in 11 categories.

Effie Chamberlin, Grace Cottage’s Quality Improvement/Compliance Officer, notes that, no matter how high the scores, there is always room for improvement, and cautions that “something may burst the bubble and what are we going to say then?!” We will promise to keep Cottage Door readers posted on annual Press Ganey results which, because the statistical sampling at a 19-bed hospital is relatively small, can be skewed either way by a single survey or two. “Patients should know that we read the responses on every survey carefully, and we really do make use of comments so that we’re constantly striving to maintain or improve our high quality of care. We can’t ever just rest on our laurels,” Effie added.