Group ranks HCHC second nationally as Hospital of Choice

Henry County Health Center was recently recognized by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers (AAHCP) as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation to receive the Hospital of Choice Award for 2013. The Hospital of Choice Award is designed to identify America?s most customer-friendly hospitals, recognizing the best hospitals in customer service delivery.

In 2012, HCHC was named as a Top 100 hospital. This year, HCHC advanced to achieve recognition as a Top 10 Hospital of Choice and attained second place on the Top 10 list. The Hospital of Choice Awards Selection Committee selected HCHC from more than 1,600 hospital reviews. The choice awards are based on customer-service practices and techniques, and includes service delivery competencies in communication, collaboration, education, teamwork and good citizenship.

?We are honored to once again be selected for an award that is based on excellence in customer service. Representatives from the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers visited last June to survey HCHC and meet with staff to discuss several topics relevant to healthcare delivery and customer service at the health center. These individuals also served as ?secret shoppers? to gauge customer service skills of front line staff as well as to assess the opinions of the community regarding the health center,? explained Robb Gardner, HCHC CEO.

?Our selection as a Hospital of Choice and runner-up for the 2013 Hospital of the Year Award is a testament that our board of trustees, medical staff, associates and volunteers recognize the importance of customer service,? Gardner continued. ?This award shows our commitment to our organization-wide values of quality, service, teamwork, accountability, respect and trust. Our required annual service excellence training for all associates, along with the Hospital of Choice Award, shows that this education and emphasis on customer service is important to our patients and their families and does not go unnoticed.?

The AAHCP was founded in 1992 to develop strategies to improve service delivery in healthcare. The AAHCP created the Hospital of Choice Awards in 2002 to identify hospitals that excelled in service delivery and maintained a complete dedication to patient satisfaction.

Choice hospitals are selected based on their competence, public communication, reputation, good citizenship, and customer service skills exhibited by staff members. Researchers review public documents to evaluate the public service events and collaborative relationships established by community hospitals and score these relationships against hospitals of similar size.

Every year, the AAHCP evaluates about 1,600 hospitals for consideration of the Hospital of Choice Award, and selects a top 100 and top 10 annually. The goal is to ensure patients and family members that their hospital experience will be as comfortable as possible in a safe, effective, and friendly environment.