Provided by Lynne Zultanky,

Bon Secours marketing manager

Special to the News-Herald

Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View, a division of Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center (BSMMC), received a four-star customer service award for outpatient surgery services last month at an awards ceremony presented by Professional Research Consultants, Inc. (PRC) in Charleston, S.C. PRC is a nationally-known healthcare research company headquartered in Omaha, Neb.

&uot;Our staff of professionals are especially trained to fulfill the needs of outpatient (or same-day) surgery patients, and we are very proud of the fact that this focus and dedication is recognized by patients, as evidenced by the award,&uot; said Dominick R. Caligi, executive vice president/administrator for BSMMC.

In addition to offering a full compliment of diagnostic services, including western Hampton Roads’ only open MRI unit, Harbour View is home to a dedicated Ambulatory surgical center. It is designed to meet the unique needs of an individual returning home after surgery. The pre- and post-operative care rooms provide a comfortable and private environment for patients and their families to prepare for and recover from surgery.

The four-star designation is limited to hospitals with outpatient surgery that achieved a score in the top 25 percentiles in the nation, specifically those between the 75 and 90 percentile. The percentiles rankings are based on the percentage of patients who rated the hospital as &uot;excellent&uot; for Overall Quality of Outpatient Surgery Care in 2002, and are compared to a database of more than 200 hospitals and healthcare facilities nationwide. This was Maryview’s first participation in the PRC database. PRC is in its 23rd year of providing marketing research for hospitals across the United States.

Bon Secours’ local systems received a total of 60 customer service awards; of those, there were three PRC four-star awards for 2002.

In other BSMMA news, the center was awarded accreditation status by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations on June 27 in Portsmouth.

&uot;We are very pleased to have been awarded accreditation by the Joint Commission,&uot; said Caligi. &uot;It is a nationwide symbol of quality that reflects on our constant commitment to meeting rigorous performance standards. We are justifiably proud of our staff and physicians.&uot;

The accreditation status applies to all services offered by Maryview, including BSMM and Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View. The status is a voluntary process in which the organization agrees to be measured against nationwide standards set by health professional. To earn and maintain accreditation, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Join Commission survey team at least every three years.