2010-08-12 14:43:02 AAMC is Sole Maryland Hospital to Receive HealthGrades 2010-2011 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ This distinct award positions AAMC ahead of more than 40 other Maryland hospitals that participated in the survey for outstanding patient experience, as determined by HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) a national, standardized patient survey. Nationwide, more than 3,700 hospitals took part in the survey, which compiled data from July 2008-June 2009. This is the first national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients’ perspectives of hospital care. HCAHPS is an initiative of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “AAMC is honored that our patients have ranked our hospital among the state’s and the nation’s best for patient experience,” said Victoria W. Bayless, president and chief operating officer of Anne Arundel Health System, the parent company of AAMC. “The HCAHPS data is one of the greatest indicators of patient satisfaction available to a hospital because the information comes directly from the patients we treat. The award truly speaks to the dedication, compassion, and care delivered by our nurses, physicians, administrators, and volunteers.” In the HCAHPS survey, patients across the country are asked the same 27 questions, which are consolidated into 10 measures. This makes it easy to compare patient experiences at hospitals. Those measures are: how well nurses in the hospitals communicate with patients how well doctors in the hospitals communicate with patients how responsive the hospital staff is to patient needs how well the hospital staff helps the patient manage pain how well the staff communicates with the patient about medicines whether pertinent information was provided when the patient was discharged the cleanliness of the patient’s room the quietness of the patient’s room the overall rating of the hospital whether the patient would recommend the hospital to others