Salina Regional Health Center has been honored with an award.

According to the hospital, Salina Regional Health Center has received the 2016 Women’s Choice Award^® as one of America’s Best Hospitals for Emergency Care . This evidence-based designation is the only Emergency Care award that identifies the country’s best healthcare institutions based on robust criteria that considers female patient satisfaction, clinical excellence, and what women state that they want from a hospital.

The list of 360 award winners, including Salina Regional Health Center represents hospitals that have provided exceptional patient care and treatment, signifying Salina Regional’s commitment to meeting the highest standards in Emergency Care for women, their families and their community.

“Every day is a new day in the emergency department and we are constantly growing and changing to meet the demands of the community,” said Jeanine Forsberg, director of emergency services at the hospital.  “The physicians and staff deserve this award.  They are a solid and dedicated staff committed to this community.  Drs. Keir Swisher and Sean Herrington, co-medical directors of the Emergency Department, set the tone for excellence in the ER.”

The America’s Best Hospitals for Emergency Care are hospitals that consistently rank among the best of the 3,800 hospitals reporting on the performance of their respective Emergency Departments. They are judged on the following Emergency Department performance measures reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):

1. Average number of minutes before outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack got an ECG,
2. Average time patients spent in the Emergency Department, before they were admitted to the hospital as an inpatient,
3. Average time patients spent in the Emergency Department before they were seen by a healthcare professional,

1. Average time patients spent waiting in the Emergency Department, after the doctor decided to admit them as an inpatient, but before leaving the Emergency Department for their inpatient room,
2. Average time patients spent in the Emergency Department before being sent home,
3. Average time patients who came to the Emergency Department with broken bones had to wait before receiving pain medication,
4. Percentage of patients who came to the Emergency Department with stroke symptoms who received brain scan results within 45 minutes of arrival,
5. Percentage of patients who left the Emergency Department before being seen.

Each of the measures indicated above were weighted according to a survey of over 1,000 women on their relative priority, and listed above in order of importance. In addition, hospitals that fell within the bottom 25^th percentile for patient recommendation scores were eliminated from consideration for the award.

For each Emergency Department measure, the top 25^th percentile and the top 50^th percentile are determined for all hospitals reporting the measure. Hospitals that ranked in the top 25% nationwide for a measure received points according to the measure’s relative importance. Hospitals that ranked between 25% and 50% received half points. Points were then totaled for all measures, per hospital. Those hospitals with total scores that placed them in the top 10% nationally, earned the Women’s Choice Award.

“We have found that recommendations are an important consideration used by women in selecting a hospital for themselves and their family. By helping women know which hospitals in their area provide the best critical care, we are able to help them make better decisions, especially when it comes to emergency situations,” says Delia Passi, CEO and Founder of the Women’s Choice Award.