Baptist Health Again Named "Most Preferred Healthcare Provider" in the Greater Jacksonville Area

Jacksonville, Florida, September 18, 2007 -- Local consumers have selected Baptist Medical Center Downtown as the 2007/08 Consumer Choice Award winner for the greater Jacksonville area. The award was based on the National Research Corporation's (NRC) 2007 Health Care Market Guide study of nearly 200,000 households representing 400,000 consumers in the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia. Baptist Downtown was chosen for the award based on its top ranking in the following categories:"Best Doctors," "Best Nurses," "Best Overall Quality" and "Best Image."

In addition, Baptist Health was named "Most Preferred Healthcare Provider" in the NRC Health Care Market Guide, which the system has received since 1990.

Baptist Downtown was selected by consumers as the best among five local health systems in 14 quality categories, including recognition for having the "Best Doctors" and the "Best Nurses." The medical center also rated number-one in 16 service categories, including heart, cancer, orthopaedics and neurology.

NRC Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Hays says, "Consumers play an increasing role in selecting their health care facilities and services. As more health care quality information is made publicly available, we expect this trend to increase. These organizations are selected for the Consumer Choice Award by the community residents they serve."

Baptist Health is the recipient of numerous other consumer choice awards, including "Top Medical Center" in Jacksonville Magazine's annual Readers' Poll since the survey's inception in 1997. Folio Weekly readers have selected Baptist Downtown as the "Best Hospital in Northeast Florida" for the magazine's "Best of Jax" issue every year since the reader poll began in 1991.

In addition, Baptist Downtown was recently the recipient of the 2007 HealthGrades "Excellence Award in Pulmonary Care and Stroke Care" and the HealthGrades 2007 "Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence," a recognition for being among the top five percent of all hospitals in U.S. for positive clinical outcomes. Recently, the hospital was named among U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals 2007," and among the top 50 in the country for digestive disorders.

Also in 2007, Wolfson Children's Hospital was named one of the top three children's hospitals in Florida by Child magazine and Baptist Health was named as one of Health Imaging & IT magazine's "Top 25 Connected Healthcare Facilities."

"We are grateful for the trust our community and our patients have placed in Baptist Health, as evidenced by the annual results of the NRC's consumer survey," says Hugh Greene, Baptist Health's president and chief executive officer.

A Summary of the Results of the NRC's Health Care Market Guide
Among quality measures, Baptist Downtown scored the highest among local health care facilities for having the:

Best Nurses

Best Doctors

Best Overall Quality

Highest Patient Safety

Most Personalized Care

Best Accommodations/Amenities

Best Community Health Programs

Widest Range of Service

Most Convenient Location

Among product lines, Baptist Health led in every category, including:

Pediatrics

Obstetrics (OB)

Women's/Gynecology (GYN)

Emergency Room

Inpatient Stay

Outpatient Surgery

Outpatient Testing/Treatment

Imaging

Physical Therapy

Heart

Cancer

Orthopaedics

Mental Health

Home Health Care

Senior Services