Press Ganey Insights

Hospital case studies

Crittenton Hospital Medical Center: A Case Study in Employee Partnership
Just a few years ago, surveys at Crittenton Hospital Medical Center in Rochester, Mich., found that employees were simply not engaged in the hospital. Those who bothered to fill out the survey forms didn't trust that their answers would remain confidential, and the few who provided written comments doubted their input would be valued. There seemed to be little hope of turning things around, but with new leadership, a new focus on creating a positive environment for the people who work there and Press Ganey's expertise, Crittenton turned disengaged and discontented workers into dedicated partners. (2010)

A Sense of Urgency in the Heartland: How a Hospital Rapidly Smoothed Out Patient Flow and Spurred Cultural Change
In mid-2008, Heartland Regional Medical Center (HRMC) in St. Joseph, Mo., was like almost every other hospital in the United States in that it was plagued with patient flow problems, particularly in its surgical services. “In the operating room, our first cases were late, our turnover times too long and our surgeons were operating at 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. with elective cases. Neither our surgeons nor our patients were happy,” says Carolyn Paden, the hospital’s service leader for surgical and patient care services. Rather than continuing to struggle, the hospital began a project in August 2008 to solve the root causes of the backlogs. (January 2010)

A Tale of Two Hospitals: Putting Best Practices to Work in an Integrated Health Care System
MetroWest Medical Center has partnered with Press Ganey for patient satisfaction surveys, data analysis, and improvement resources since 2006. An organization-wide commitment to service excellence, fostered by its leadership and owner Vanguard Health Systems, has paid off, with satisfaction scores surging from well below the 25th percentile nationally to being well on the way to meeting MetroWest's goal of the 75th percentile across services in 2009. The medical center is also meeting, and in some cases exceeding, national benchmarks for quality of care. (September 2009)

Safety First: Culture Shift Improves Event Reporting at Hennepin County Medical Center
Hennepin County Medical Center faced a challenge common among health care providers: a disconnect between the perceptions of its administrators and those of its frontline staff regarding the hospital's safety culture. The hospital has partnered with Press Ganey for safety since 2007 with the goal of closing the gap and ensuring that all of its employees and physicians understand and embrace its organization-wide commitment to safe patient care. Since Hennepin began working with Press Ganey, the hospital has taken several significant steps to enhance its organization-wide commitment to safe patient care. (2009)