March 29, 2024

Skiff’s emergency department receives top award

Department named among nation's best by Women's Choice Award

Skiff Medical Center has been named one of America’s Best Hospitals for Emergency Care by the Women’s Choice Awards. The award recognizes excellence in emergency care based on several criteria focused on the patients time spent in the emergency department.

“We are extremely honored to receive the Women’s Choice award,” Skiff Medical Center President Laurie Conner said. “We prioritize providing a remarkable experience for our patients, not only in our emergency department, but throughout our entire organization. We consider it a privilege every time an outside entity recognizes the excellence of our caregivers.”

Criteria for the award includes the average time to admission, time from admission to room and door to diagnosis. It breaks down further averaging the time before outpatients with chest pain or a possible heart attack received an ECG and the average time patients with broken bones had to wait before getting pain medication. The results are found using combined data from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey results with primary research about women’s health-care preferences. Hospitals who received the award represent emergency departments with average measure times in the highest 25 to 50 percentile in the country.

According to Women’s Choice Award, the recognition is significant given that long waits and high crowding can negatively impact patient outcomes, including patients leaving without receiving medical treatment, longer overall length of hospital stay and an increase in mortality rates.

“Emergency departments can be very stressful environments, particularly for the elderly or a mother with a sick or injured child,” founder and CEO of the Women’s Choice Award Delia Passi said. “Women make more than 80 percent of health-care decisions and want to be confident they know which emergency departments in their communities will take care of their loved ones quickly and with the best possible care.

Skiff is one of seven award recipients in Iowa representing the hospitals that have met the highest standards for emergency care in the United States by the Women’s Choice Award.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com