A poll of households in the Salt Lake area named the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics as having the highest quality and image of hospitals in the area.
For the third year in a row, UUHC won the Consumer Choice Award, bestowed by the National Research Corporation.
An announcement of the award appeared in the Oct. 1 issue of the health sciences? newsletter, Pulse.
?I think this is reassuring to the public that there are institutions in Utah recognized nationally as having a high level of quality,? said Rick Fullmer, UUHC executive director.
The NRC questioned more than 150,000 nationwide to determine the top facilities in regions across the country. It awarded 122 hospitals, including UUHC.
UUHC?which includes U Hospital, the Moran Eye Center, the Huntsman Cancer Institute and clinics throughout the Wasatch Front?shared top ranking for the Salt Lake City metropolitan area with LDS Hospital.
?They have four principle attributes in selecting the Consumer Choice Award winner. The UUHC won outright in three of the four,? Fullmer said.
UUHC received top ranking in categories of doctors, overall quality and image and reputation.
It tied with LDS Hospital in the category for nurses.
?It is not unusual for academic health centers to be recognized,? Fullmer said.
These institutions are eager to take advantage of technology and focus on outcomes. UUHC establishes goals every year to improve quality, he said.
He also attributes the recognition to the U Hospital?s new found accreditation as a Trauma I Center?the first hospital in the Intermountain West to achieve this status, he said.
The U Hospital now takes the most seriously injured, including burn victims, spinal-chord injuries and organ transplants, Fullmer said.
UUHC surveys its inpatients, asking, among other things, if a patient would recommend its services to friends or family.
?We monitor it as our key quality indicator,? he said.
And that ranking has been going up, reaching an all-time high of 86.5 percent last year.