N.J. hospital works to satisfy customers.(Overlook Hospital wins award)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Modern Healthcare, December, 1999 by Katzman, Christine Ngeo

Emergency department managers at Overlook Hospital in Summit, N.J., were shocked in 1996 when their facility scored in the bottom fifth of 460 hospitals in a customer satisfaction survey conducted by Press, Ganey Associates of South Bend, Ind., an independent polling firm.

The staff faced the facts and committed to rebuilding the hospital's image and performance. Three years later, after dramatically trimming patient-waiting times for various services, scores on the annual Press surveys have been consistently higher than the 95th percentile.

"We see patient satisfaction as a legitimate outcome of care," similar to medical outcomes, cost and quality of life, says James Espinosa, M.D., medical director of the emergency department.

For its...

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