Contact: Ellen Bank
843.792.2626
October 19, 2000
(Charleston, S.C.) -- The MUSC Medical Center is among 122 hospitals nationally named as recipients of the Consumer Choice Award. Given by the National Research Corporation (NRC), the Consumer Choice Award recognizes the hospitals that consumers chose as having the highest quality and image. The organization is announcing all national winners in the Oct. 23 issue of Modern Healthcare Magazine. This is the third year in a row that MUSC has been recognized.
Consumers rated hospitals on criteria which included best nurses, best doctors, overall quality, and best image and reputation. MUSC is the only hospital in this market to be recognized.
NRC president and CEO Michael Hays said winners are determined by consumer perceptions on multiple quality and image ratings collected in the company's annual Healthcare Market Guide Study. Of the 2,500 hospitals rated by consumers in the study, the winning 122 rank highest in their Metropolitan Statistical Areas, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
"Consumers continue to play an increasing role in their selection of hospitals and in the care they receive," Hays said. "We can expect to see this trend increase in the future, particularly as more and more information is available to consumers. So we are pleased to recognized those hospitals singled out as leaders by those they serve. The winners deserve recognition for the emphasis they have placed on providing quality care and meeting consumers' needs."
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