Mother Frances nationally recognized as a top hospital

Officials with Trinity Mother Frances Health System announced that National Research Corporation (NRC) has recognized the Health System's Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler as one of the nation's top hospitals (as chosen by health care consumers in the Tyler metro area) for having the highest quality and image in 190 markets throughout the United States. This is the twelfth year that NRC has awarded hospitals whose consumers have recognized them for providing quality healthcare services.

Trinity Mother Frances Health System president Lindsey Bradley, FACHE stated, "For the second consecutive year, the people of Tyler have chosen Mother Frances Hospital as their preferred health care provider. This is a great honor for us."

"This award highlights the dedication of every employee of the Health System," said David K. Teegarden, MD, president and chief medical officer, Trinity Mother Frances Health System. "Our patients deserve a higher level of care and customer service and this award reflects our ongoing efforts to deliver both. We are very excited about this award."

"Mother Frances Hospital was founded as a faith-based institution in 1937 by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Our employee focus has always been to treat our patients with dignity and compassion. Now in our 70th year, we are dedicated to keeping our patients and their families number one," said Ray Thompson, FACHE, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Trinity Mother Frances Health System.

"Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey and took the time to once again select us as the number one choice for medical care," said Steven P. Keuer, MD, executive vice president, Trinity Mother Frances Health System. "We feel close to each of our patients and their families and it is an honor to be able to serve them."

NRC Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Hays said winners are determined by consumer perceptions on multiple quality and image ratings collected in the company's annual NRC Healthcare Market Guide study. Of the 3,200 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 2007/08 NRC Healthcare Market Guide study surveyed over 200,000 households representing over 400.000 consumers in the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia.

"Consumers play an increasing role in selecting their healthcare facilities and services, " Hays said. "As more healthcare quality information is made publicly available, we expect this trend to increase. These organizations are selected for the Consumer Choice Awards by the community residents they serve. We are pleased to honor these facilities for their dedication to quality healthcare in the eyes of their patients."

The 2007/08 Healthcare Market Guide is the nation's largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. No other study used to measure hospital performance and preferences contains more consumer 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.

National Research Corporation is an industry leader, with more than two decades of experience in healthcare performance measurement and improvement.

Trinity Mother Frances Health System includes Mother Frances Hospital - Tyler, Mother Frances Hospital - Jacksonville, and Trinity Clinic. Trinity Clinic is a multispecialty physician group with over 200 providers serving east, northeast and north-central Texas. For more information on services available through Trinity Mother Frances Health System, visit www.tmfhs.org.