At Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, it is our goal to provide safe, effective, high-quality healthcare for every patient.

We encourage our patients to take an active role in their healthcare, and we believe they should make informed decisions about the physicians and hospitals they trust to provide that care.

Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital is proud of the honors it has earned for providing quality care.

Tempe St. Luke’s was named among the Top 100 Hospitals in the nation in the medium hospital category (100-249 beds) in 2000. The National Benchmarks for Success study identifies hospitals throughout the United States that excel at providing high-quality care, efficient operations, and superior financial results.

Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and we have met all national patient safety standards.

Our patients, the people who have first hand experience with the quality of care provided at Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, consistently give us high marks for the service we provide.

Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital received the following scores from patients who received care from October 1 – December 1, 2004:

• Inpatient Overall Satisfaction – 96%
• Outpatient Overall Satisfaction – 98%
• Emergency Department Satisfaction – 92%

Here are some of the things our patients are saying about Tempe St. Luke’s.

“They took care of all my needs. They were very polite and always there when needed. I would recommend that hospital to anyone.”

“They were very efficient. The tests were run immediately. Everybody was friendly. They explained things well. They made me feel that I was attended to like I should have been.”

“I came in after having a heart attack, and I received good attention. They gave me prompt care, and they did whatever they needed to do.”

“I was very well pleased. I’ve heard stories about having to wait to be admitted but they got me in immediately.”

“All of the nurses were very good. The nurses were always checking on me and giving me the attention I needed.”

“I think they have a great staff. The surgeon was excellent.”

“It was very good nursing care. They were kind to me and paid attention to my needs. There were right there when I rang the bell.”

“My mother was treated well by the nurses and doctors there.”

Today, a number of different agencies report information about hospital quality on the Internet. These websites can be a good source of information for healthcare consumers and many of them provide reliable data that can help consumers make informed decisions about where to seek care. But, there are some things that should be considered in reviewing these Internet reports.

Is the information current?
Most data reported on the Internet is historical data. It could be years old, or just a matter of months old. If the data is not recent, it may not accurately reflect the care being provided by a hospital today.

What is included in the data?
In some cases, data may be about only one hospital service or even just a small part of the treatment provided for a certain condition. For example, it is important to educate heart attack patients who are smokers about the health dangers associated with smoking, however, that is just one part of effective treatment for heart disease.

In some cases, data may represent only a short period of time – for example just one quarter, or three month’s of hospital care.

Reports may also include only certain types of patients. For example, if only Medicare patients are included in a report, the data would not reflect all of the care provided to a hospital’s patients.

Data may also be reported for a small number of patients at one hospital, and compared to hospitals that treat a larger number of patients. This can affect percentage ratings, which can be misleading.

Who is reporting the data?
There are many reputable reporting agencies, including government agencies, healthcare data organizations, and hospital associations. Consumers should check the credentials of any group reporting healthcare quality data.

At Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital we are constantly striving to provide the highest possible quality of care to all of our patients. If you have further questions about quality, please contact us at info@tempestlukeshospital.com.