The Modern Healthcare Magazine published the winners of the 10th annual National Research Corporation’s Consumer Choice Award on Thursday.
Strong Memorial Hospital was among the winners for the 10th straight year. The award is given to the hospitals chosen by patients who have the highest quality and image in 180 markets throughout the U.S., according to Strong’s Web site.
“This award is based on interviews that the National Research Corporation does with consumers in our market,” UR Medical Center Director of Public Relations Teri D’Agostino said.
Every year, the National Research Corporation receives quality and image ratings of hospitals throughout the country from consumers in the healthcare industry. They then use these ratings to determine what the consumers feel are the best hospitals in 180 areas of the United States.
“It’s particularly gratifying to win this award because this reflects what our consumers think,” D’Agostino said.
The patients at Strong Memorial Hospital come from a wide range of areas.
“Strong treats more than half the residents who live in Monroe County,” D’Agostino said. “It is also a major referral center, so we do transplants and children’s heart surgery for patients from as far as Northern Pennsylvania and Cleveland.”
The hospital is also the main caregiver for students at UR.
If a student calls the Medical Emergency Response Team and needs to go to the hospital, they are taken to Strong.
“A lot of the reasoning behind that is that our security officers are there and students get a ride back from security,” MERT Director of Operations Joshua Brown said. “Also, our health insurance is accepted over there. If I was to be cared for anywhere, Strong would be far and away my top choice. I’m originally from Buffalo, and I would say it is one of the premiere hospitals in Western New York.”
Freshman John Monna, who recently received care at Strong, agreed.
“They were very nice and helpful, and I didn’t have to wait too long in the emergency room,” he said. “They take good care of their patients.”
Beyond treating students at UR, Strong is owned by the university and is part of the UR Medical Center.
“Medical students at UR do most of their clinical rotations through the hospital,” UR School of Medicine and Dentistry Associate Dean of Admissions John Hanson said. “Because Strong is a research and teaching institution, it has a lot of resources and it uses them effectively. Their focus is on patient care and improving that care. Strong has the resources to make those kind of improvements.”
As for next year’s Consumer Choice Awards, D’Agostino expects Strong to continue its winning streak.
“We hope we’re able to keep our record going, we’ve won it for 10 years now,” she said. “Customer service and patient care improvement are top on our list here at Strong Memorial Hospital.”
Jarrett can be reached at bjarrett@campustimes.org.
