Cary Medical Center has earned National recognition by Avatar International for outstanding performance in Patient Satisfaction. Avatar is an industry leader in health quality improvement services that specializes in Evidence Based Intelligence Surveys. Based on results from Avatar surveys completed by patients who have received services at Cary Medical Center the quality of customer care exceeded patient expectations. This is the fifth year in a row that Cary has earned this distinction. Beyond this ‘Exceeding Patient Expectations' Award, the hospital's Department of Rehabilitation Services also received an 'Honorable Mention' for its innovative work in clinical services. The awards were received at the Avatar International Annual Conference held in Augusta, Maine.

In making the announcement, David Medvedeff, PharmD, MBA, CEO of Avatar said, "Staying true to their mission and keeping patient care at the center of everything they do Cary Medical Center listened to their patients and consistently delivered a high quality patient experience. These efforts have certainly been acknowledged by their patients and we at Avatar applaud their accomplishment."

Kris Doody, RN, Chief Executive Officer at Cary Medical Center noted that exceeding patient's expectations demands high performance from everyone in the healthcare team.

"We are constantly seeking ways to improve on patient satisfaction and we commit substantial resources in training and systems that help our staff deliver high quality clinical care and customer service. Avatar surveys tell us what our patients our saying about us. The survey has a unique element that evaluates what level of care our patients expected to receive prior to experiencing care at the hospital. Given that our expectation score is consistently very high it is even more impressive that we continue to exceed that expectation and have done so for five years in a row."

In addition to receiving the award for ‘Exceeding Patient Expectations' Cary's Rehabilitation Services Department also earned a National Avatar ‘Honorable Mention' for Clinical Care Staff. Each year Avatar invites organizations with the very highest patient satisfaction scores to apply for an ‘Innovation Award'. Cary's Rehabilitation Services Department submitted a nomination and was selected for ‘Honorable Mention'.

Shawn Anderson, Chief Operating Officer at Cary Medical Center who has administrative responsibilities for the Department of Rehabilitation Services praised the department for the outstanding achievement.

"Our staff in Rehabilitation Services constantly performs at the very highest levels with nearly a 100% patient satisfaction score", said Anderson. "Our patients consistently rate the services they receive very high and in addition they often write in comments identifying specific staff for going above and beyond. We are so pleased with this recognition and it is very well deserved."

Leslie Randolph, Manager of Rehabilitation and Imaging Services at Cary Medical Center, explained that the award represents the results of a unique and effective ‘team' approach that is fostered in the department and the fact that patient satisfaction is always on the radar screen.

"We really focus on patient satisfaction", said Randolph, who is a Physical Therapist. "We have established an Avatar Team that meets regularly to review the results of our satisfaction surveys, we identify areas of potential improvement and we assess the impact of various approaches. To score this well means that every member of the department from our support staff to our clinical providers must always be performing at the top of their game. The award is a great tribute to all of their individual efforts and their contributions to the team.

The Innovation that earned the recognition was focused on both staff and staff to patient communications. A process was designed to better educate patients about the therapy they were receiving along with expectations for outcomes and recovery. The program also introduced the concept of ‘Orthopedic Rounds' where the rehab team reviews challenging cases and as a team brainstorms creative treatment plans and different therapeutic approaches. The results of the innovation helped to improve patient satisfaction scores on the Avatar surveys.

Avatar (www.avatar-intl.com), a research and consulting company based in Orlando, FL, specializes in Evidence Based Intelligent Surveys^TM and Innovative Strategies^TM to transform information into significant quality and efficiency of care improvement for the healthcare industry. In addition to conducting surveys, Avatar also actively engages healthcare providers in process improvement, including training in service quality. Avatar serves healthcare organizations nationally, including small community hospitals, academic medical centers, large regional medical centers, integrated healthcare systems, long-term care and behavioral health organizations.

Avatar International can be reached at 1-800-282-8274.