Stony Brook University Medical Center leadership with the 2006/07 Consumer Choice Award, issued by the National Research Corporation (from left): Fred S. Sganga, CEO, Richard N. Fine, M.D., Dean, School of Medicine; Lee Ann Xippolitos, R.N., Ph.D., Chief Nursing Officer, and Thomas Biancaniello, M.D., Chief Medical Officer.
STONY BROOK, N.Y., September 26, 2006 – National Research Corporation (NRC) announced today that Stony Brook University Medical Center has been named a 2006/07 “Consumer Choice Award” recipient for the Long Island metropolitan area. The award identifies hospitals which healthcare consumers have chosen as having the highest quality and image in 186 markets throughout the U.S.
To identify award recipients, NRC reaches out to over 200,000 US households – 1,622 on Long Island – using its nationally syndicated NRC Healthcare Market Guide® study, and honors those hospitals whose consumers’ rate as having the best quality and image. This is the eleventh year NRC has awarded hospitals whose consumers have recognized them for providing quality healthcare services, and the first time Stony Brook University Medical Center has been selected as a recipient.
“This award is a tribute to the caring, conscientious work of our physicians, nurses and staff,” said Richard N. Fine, M.D., Dean, School of Medicine.
Stony Brook University Medical Center CEO, Fred S. Sganga added, "Our employees work tirelessly to provide the best possible care in a safe environment," said Sganga, "and this acknowledgement from the community tells us that they are being recognized for that effort."
NRC Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Hays said winners are determined by consumer perceptions on multiple quality and image ratings collected in the annual NRC Healthcare Market Guide study. Of the hospitals named by consumers in the study, the winning facilities rank highest in their Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2006/07 NRC Healthcare Market Guide study surveyed nearly 200,000 households representing 400,000 consumers in the U.S.
"Consumers are continuing to play an increasing role in their selection of healthcare facilities and services," Hays said. "As further information is made publicly available to consumers, we expect this trend to increase. With the industry's shift to a consumer-driven model, we are pleased to recognize the healthcare organizations named as leaders by those they serve. The winners deserve recognition for the emphasis they have placed on providing quality care."
The 2006/07 Healthcare Market Guide is the nation's largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. No other study used to measure hospital performance and consumer preferences contains more responses than NRC's study. The study has a margin of error of + or 0.2 percent at a national level. Co-winners are named when scores fall within the statistical margin of error for a given market.
Stony Brook University Medical Center is the only academic medical center on Long Island and the only tertiary care hospital in Suffolk County. With 504 beds and 4,000 employees, Stony Brook is the largest hospital in the county. The new Heart Center and the Stony Brook University Cancer Center attract patients from throughout the region with cutting edge diagnostic and treatment facilities and compassionate care. Stony Brook has Long Island’s only kidney transplantation center and the nation’s first Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center. The hospital is also the regional referral center for trauma, perinatal and neonatal intensive care, burns, bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, cystic fibrosis, pediatric/adult AIDS, and is home to the Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.
