Surveys Report on Higher
Satisfaction and Better Patient Care

The people of St. Mary's Regional Medical Center -- the nurses, physicians, technicians and support staff -- are what make us a trusted, vital part of the Enid community. We aim to be not only a healthcare provider of choice, but also an employer of choice. To obtain constructive feedback and find ways to improve our workplace, we perform annual employee and physician satisfaction surveys designed by the Gallup polling organization. We're proud to report that both 2007 surveys showed positive results.

The 2007 employee satisfaction survey comprised 12 statements that participants rated on a scale from one to five, with five being "strongly agree." The statements included: "I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day," "I know what is expected of me" and "I feel that my supervisor cares about me."

Positive Changes for Employees
"We were pleased to see that our employee satisfaction scores were high, and we saw improvements from last year, which indicated that the actions we took, based on those surveys, had a positive effect," says Linda Hoag, Director of Human Resources. "Some departments restructured job duties or purchased other equipment so employees could manage their workloads more efficiently," she says. "These are needs that may have gone unrealized and unmet, were it not for the survey."

Nearly 90 percent of the physicians responded to their satisfaction survey. Most physicians at St. Mary's are not employees. They can work at other hospitals and may have private practices.

In 2007, St. Mary's upgraded patient monitoring devices in the Intensive Care Unit; expanded the Post Cardiac Care Unit; purchased a nuclear medicine camera and hired 39 nurses.

Ongoing Feedback Is Key
While the surveys are a formal vehicle for obtaining feedback, says Rick Wallace, Chief Executive Officer, he and other leaders ask for feedback from employees and physicians year-round. Patients are regularly surveyed by phone on everything from their medical treatment to food service. Patient satisfaction scores recently were polled, and the results were high.

"Surveys renew our commitment to keep communicating with our healthcare personnel and patients to find better ways to deliver care," Mr. Wallace says. "They show us how far we've come and what we need to focus on next."

305 South 5th, Enid, OK 73701 (580) 233-6100 FAX: (580) 249-3982