Hospital honored for excellence in patient experience

North Valley Hospital is being honored at the national level for its patient experience.

The hospital was awarded a 2019 Guardian of Excellence Award from Press Ganey. North Valley is the only Montana hospital to receive an award from the company that works with health care institutions for surveys that measure patient satisfaction.

Kevin Abel, CEO of North Valley Hospital, praised the award.

“This award speaks to our commitment to quality care and the Planetree philosophy of patient-centered care,” Abel said in a release. “I’m impressed by the high-level work of our employees to invest continually on patient experience while providing excellent care.”

The Guardian of Excellence Award recognizes top-performing health care organizations that have achieved the 95th percentile or above of performance for four quarters in a row.

North Valley Hospital received the recognition for being in the top 5% in Patient Experience in Inpatient Care from May 2018 to April 2019.

North Valley scored high in the “likelihood to recommend” category of the survey for inpatient care — scoring 95, 97, 99 and 95 out of a possible score of 100.

According to Amy Vanterpool, Chief Clinical Officer at North Valley, the award represents North Valley Hospital’s commitment to the community to provide the highest quality patient-centered care.

“The award acknowledges our focus on our nursing and hospital missions, and I am incredibly proud of our teams for their hard work,” Vanterpool said.

The award is a nationally recognized symbol of achievement in health care, according to a release from the hospital. The award honors clients who consistently sustained performance in the top 5% of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores for all Press Ganey clients during the course of one year.

Patrick T. Ryan, Executive Chairman of Press Ganey, said the honor reflects North Valley Hospital’s unwavering commitment to improving the safety, quality and experience of care.

“Their hard work and dedication are inspiring, and we are proud to partner with them on our shared mission to reduce patient suffering,” he said in a release.