Fill out HCAHPS survey to keep healthcare great in Lamar

If you haven’t noticed, Prowers Medical Center is on a mission to provide exemplary care in all departments. That’s why the medical center has embarked on several quality programs, which have yielded great results, including earning a Top 100 critical care hospital award last year from iVantage Health Analytics. The hospital has its sights on earning more kudos, especially from patients.

Prowers Medical Center truly wants your feedback. To that end, they participate in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey (HCAHPS) through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). If you’ve stayed at Prowers Medical Center in the last few years, you may remember receiving a survey in the mail shortly after your visit. The ultimate goal of the HCAHPS patient satisfaction survey is to consistently provide quality care. By participating in the survey, you help the hospital improve, which improves healthcare for everyone in our community.

“Its purpose is to ensure that we are giving patients the quality care they deserve,” said Stephanie Martinson, Quality Director.

When you receive an HCAHPS survey in the mail, it looks like it is coming from Prowers Medical Center, but it’s really sent by an independent survey company. The survey is given to all inpatients at the hospital, whether they have private insurance or receive Medicaid or Medicare.

“We are constantly trying to improve our quality. Surveys help us know we are on the right track. I’m pleased that we mostly hear good things from our HCAHPS surveys,” Martinson said.

The medical center conducts other surveys on various services, including home health, emergency care, and more. Currently, HCAHPS surveys are just for inpatients.

“We would appreciate those who recently stayed with us to watch for the survey in the mail, and fill it out. It arrives approximately two to three weeks after discharge and is completely anonymous,” Martinson said.

Survey results provide a baseline for the future, helping the hospital measure progress over time. The goal, of course, is to continually improve quality and surveys go hand-in-hand with recent quality efforts. For example, the medical center is also DNV accredited—meaning they meet robust national standards for hospitals.

A good example of how Prowers Medical Center is actively working to improve care is the adoption of the CTRAC program which maintains contact with high-risk patients after discharge, helping them stay on track with care instructions and follow up visits. That way, they are less likely to end up in the emergency department again with severe symptoms.

“Our goal was to have 85% of high-risk patients go home with a follow up appointment. In four short months, we’ve surpassed that goal. We’ve had such success that we plan to set follow up appointments for all patients, not just those who are high risk,” Martinson added.

If you have questions about the HCAHPS survey or quality efforts in general at Prowers Medical Center, call Stephanie Martinson at 719-336-7098.