Miami University junior Kara Ferguson experiences the personal attention from a McCullough-Hyde nurse that helped the hospital receive top rankings.
McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital (MHMH) has some of the most satisfied patients in Ohio and the nation, according to 2008 consumer reports.
The Consumer Reports hospital ratings for 2008 rank MHMH 10th in the state for patient satisfaction and the Butler County Medical Center (BCMC) second in the state.
Health Grades, another health care ratings organization, put MHMH in the top 10 percent nationally for patient satisfaction. The BCMC was not included in the Health Grade rating because it is too small.
Sylvia Moore, administrative assistant to MHMH's CEO, said the level of personal attention patients get is a major factor in MHMH's high level of patient satisfaction.
"A lot of time people think bigger is better, but we can give more personal, direct, hands-on communication working with the patient and their family, and we can achieve better outcomes," Moore said.
According to MHMH Quality Improvement Director Theresa Via, the ratings are derived from a standardized, national survey given to patients who spend at least one night in the hospital. The information is continuously submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which posts a summary of the data at http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.
Via said MHMH uses the surveys as a way to find out what is being done well and what can be improved upon.
According to Via, the expertise of the medical staff and the relationships they have with patients are in many ways unique to MHMH.
"Here, you get to see your own doctor in the hospital," Via said. "You get to know our nursing staff. We have very little turnover, so there is a lot of experience and expertise."
Miami University sophomore Dan Hamlin, who broke his leg while in Cleveland during summer 2009, said his experience taught him the value of a good doctor-patient relationship.
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"I would go where I felt comfortable with the doctor," Hamlin said. "If the doctor seemed like he was in a rush and didn't care about each case specifically, then I wouldn't want to be there. These rankings definitely increase the likelihood that I would stay (at MHMH) for treatment."
According to Via, 77 percent of MHMH patients in 2008 said they would recommend the hospital to a friend, while only 68 percent of patients statewide and nationally said the same of other hospitals.
Conversely, only 3 percent of MHMH patients said they would definitely not recommend MHMH, while the state and national average is 6 percent.
Via said the hospital is not right for everyone.
Some patients require specialized care that MHMH cannot provide, even though they bring in specialists from Cincinnati to see their patients in Oxford.
"We know when to transfer you out ... we can't handle everything, but we do an excellent job with what we do here," Via said.
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