Piedmont Healthcare has Three Hospitals Among Top Ten of Georgia Hospitals Says Consumer Reports®

Nation's Leading Consumer Source Names PHC Hospitals in Patient Satisfaction Ratings

ATLANTA (September 10, 2009) - Piedmont Healthcare has three hospitals rated in the top 10 in patient satisfaction among Georgia hospitals, according to a new Consumer Reports® online ratings of more than 3,400 hospitals across the United States.

Published by the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center, the online ratings at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org are based on the federal government's Hospital Consumer Assessments of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey (HCAHPS) of over 1 million patients regarding their recent experiences during a hospital stay.

"We are extremely proud to be recognized by Consumer Reports® for our high patient satisfaction ratings," said R. Timothy Stack, president and CEO of Piedmont Healthcare.  "Now the nation knows that staff at our hospitals are not only providing world-class healthcare, but are doing so with respect and care for our patients, living the Piedmont Promise." 

According to the Consumer Reports® rating, Piedmont Hospital, a 481-bed hospital located in Buckhead, received an Overall Patient Rating of 81 percent.  Piedmont Mountainside Hospital, a 42-bed community hospital in Jasper, received a rating of 77 percent.  Piedmont Fayette Hospital, a 143-bed acute-care community hospital in Fayetteville, received a rating of 75 percent.

This recognition follows others given to Piedmont Healthcare hospitals this year, including being named to the Top 125 Hospitals in the nation list by AARP, based on research by the nonprofit watchdog group Consumer's Checkbook.

A recent poll by the Consumer Reports National Research Center found that Americans trust the experiences of other hospital patients the most when it comes to information and ratings about hospital care. Using www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org, consumers can look up their local hospital's Overall Patient Experience Rating plus Ratings for eight performance measures: doctor communication, nurse communication, room cleanliness, discharge information, attentiveness of hospital staff, communication about new medications, pain control, and quietness.

About Piedmont Healthcare

Piedmont Healthcare (PHC), a not-for-profit organization, is the parent company of Piedmont Hospital, a 481-bed acute tertiary care facility in the north Atlanta community of Buckhead; Piedmont Fayette Hospital, a 143-bed, acute-care community hospital in Fayetteville; Piedmont Mountainside Hospital, a 42-bed community hospital in Jasper; and Piedmont Newnan Hospital, a 143-bed, acute-care community hospital in Newnan. Piedmont Healthcare also is the parent company of  the Piedmont Heart Institute (PHI), which combines over 65 renowned cardiovascular specialists in the Piedmont Heart Institute Physicians with over 30 offices across north Georgia, and the 162-bed  Fuqua Heart Center of Atlanta; Piedmont Philanthropy, the philanthropic entity for private fundraising initiatives; the Piedmont Physicians Group, with over 100 primary care physicians in 30 offices throughout metro Atlanta; and the Piedmont Clinic, a 600-member physician network. Three Piedmont Healthcare hospitals-Piedmont Hospital, Piedmont Fayette Hospital and Piedmont Mountainside Hospital-received the top three patient satisfaction scores among metro Atlanta hospitals according to the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey released in March 2009.  For more information, visit piedmont.org.

CONTACT:  Diana Lewis, 404-605-3372