The 2011 award marks the 13th year in a row and the 14th year overall UMHS received the award in the Ann Arbor, MI market and the 5th time overall that UMHS won or co-won the award in the Detroit market. For the second year in a row, UMHS co-won the award in the Detroit market with Henry Ford Hospital.

Consumers selected UMHS for having the best overall quality, best doctors, best nurses, and best image/reputation in its market.

"Our patients and their families are our reason for being here. Receiving the National Research Corporation’s Consumer Choice Award once again reflects the continued hard work that our physicians, nurses and all of our staff do 24/7, 365 days a year,” says Douglas L. Strong, M.B.A., chief executive officer, University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers. “We are honored to know that we are as important to our patients and their families as they are to us.”

For 16 years, National Research Corporation has annually presented Consumer Choice Awards to the most-preferred hospitals in more than 250 U.S. markets, reflecting the growing role consumer choice plays in the health care field.

Winners are determined by multiple quality and image ratings from consumers, which are collected in the national NRC Ticker study of more than 270,000 households. The study represents more than 450,000 consumers in the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia.

The winning facilities ranked highest in their Metropolitan Statistical Areas, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, and were selected from among more than 3,200 hospitals named by consumers in a national survey.

The Ticker study is the nation's largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, containing more consumer responses than other studies measuring hospital performance and preferences. The study has a margin of error of or 0.2 percent at a national level. Co-winners are named when scores fall within the statistical margin of error for a given market.

Resources:
National Research Corporation