Consumers again rate UC Davis Medical Center as the region’s best

SACRAMENTO — For the 14th consecutive year, the UC Davis Medical Center has been selected as a Consumer Choice Award winner by the National Research Corp.

The 2012 award recognizes a single hospital in each of 300 markets nationwide that health-care consumers choose as providing the highest-quality health care.

“I congratulate the medical teams who work so hard to ensure that UC Davis is the preferred destination for care in our region,” said Ann Madden Rice, chief executive officer of UCD Medical Center. “This recognition is an important indicator of the trust our patients and the greater Sacramento community place in us to provide the high standards for patient-centered services and safety.”

The award is based on a survey conducted between Sept. 1, 2011, and Aug. 30, 2012, that included 250,000 households and 3,200 hospitals throughout the continental United States. Health-care decision makers were asked to rate their local hospitals on multiple quality and image ratings, from best doctors to highest patient safety.

Out of 20 hospitals in the Sacramento region, the UCD Medical Center received the highest percentage of “best” ratings in 10 areas, including:

* Best overall quality (18.9 percent; the next highest was 12.87 percent);
* Best image and reputation (23.28 percent; the next highest was 11.78 percent);
* Latest technology and equipment (30.65 percent; the next highest was 13.18 percent);
* Widest range of services (27.36 percent; the next highest was 13.71 percent); and
* Highest patient safety (18.93 percent; the next highest was 13.68 percent).

The UCD Medical Center, located in Sacramento, is a comprehensive academic medical center where clinical practice, teaching and research converge to advance human health. Centers of excellence include the National Cancer Institute-designated UCD Comprehensive Cancer Center; the region’s only level 1 pediatric and adult trauma centers; the UCD MIND Institute, devoted to finding treatments and cures for neurodevelopmental disorders; and the UCD Children’s Hospital.

The medical center serves a 33-county, 65,000-square-mile area that stretches north to the Oregon border and east to Nevada. It further extends its reach through the award-winning telemedicine program, which gives remote, medically underserved communities throughout California access to specialty and subspecialty care.

According to the National Research Corp., the survey is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive consumer assessment of the health-care industry. Based on the most recent outcomes, the firm is recognizing 296 hospitals with 2012 consumer choice awards. For more information, visit www.nationalresearch.com.