Clay County Medical Center (CCMC) is ranked among the top recommended hospitals in the state and country by patients. Becker’s Hospital Review compiled lists of high-scoring hospitals nationwide from data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Among being a highly recommended hospital, CCMC also scored high for physician-patient communication, nurse-patient communication, staff responsiveness, and patient experience.

The data comes from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, a national questionnaire completed by patients. Participants answered the survey based on their experience from their last in-patient visit.

CCMC is one of 16 hospitals in Kansas on the nationwide list of top-recommended hospitals. The five-star rating was awarded based on responses to the HCAHPS question, “Would you recommend this hospital to your friends and family?” The data used to calculate the top-recommended hospitals score was collected from October 2021 to September 2022.

The physician communication rating is gathered from answers to three HCAHPS questions from July 2021 to June 2022. Patients evaluated the communication from their physicians during their stay based on how well they felt the doctor explained everything to them, if they thought the doctor listened to them carefully, and if they felt they were treated with courtesy and respect. CCMC was one of 347 hospitals nationwide that scored five stars and one of 10 in Kansas.

Also, from July 2021 through June 2022, patients who had recent hospital stays were asked about communication with their nurses. Three HCAHP questions were summarized based on the same criteria as the physician communication ratings. Nationally, 364 hospitals received five stars in this category, with CCMC being one of eight listed from Kansas.

Among 277 hospitals nationwide and 10 statewide, CCMC received a five-star summary rating for patient experience. This star rating is calculated by taking the average of 10 topics from the HCAHPS data, which include physician and nurse communication, cleanliness and care transitions. The data for patient experience was collected from October 2021 through September 2022.

For more information about CCMC, please visit ccmcks.org or call 785-632-2144.