Bulletin
The Bulletin is a monthly publication for
employees and friends of Mercy Medical Center
OCTOBER 2007
Mercy wins Consumer Choice
Award for ninth consecutive year
For the ninth year in a row, consumers
surveyed in the Des Moines market
have named Mercy the best in terms of
overall quality and image. As a result, the
National Research Corporation (NRC)
has recognized Mercy as one of the
nation’s top hospitals with its prestigious
2007/08 Consumer Choice Award.
NRC, located in Lincoln, Neb., surveys
health care consumers in 190 markets
across the country to determine which
hospitals stand out as providing high
quality services. Consumer Choice
winners are determined by consumer
perceptions on multiple quality and
image ratings collected in the company’s
annual NRC Healthcare Market Guide®
Study. This year, 200,000 households
representing more than 400,000
consumers participated in the survey.
Of the 3,200 hospitals named by
consumers in the study, the winning
In This Issue
Mercy wins civil rights award...... 3
da Vinci™ Surgery System...........5
Moment of Intention.................... 6
facilities rank highest in their
Metropolitan Statistical Areas as defined
by the U.S. Census Bureau. “Consumers
play an increasing role in selecting their
health care facilities and services,” said
Michael D. Hays, NRC’s chief executive
officer. “As more health care quality
information is made publicly available,
we expect this trend to increase.”
Mercy understands how important
consumer perception is to its continued
success, and values the opinions of the
patients and families it serves.
“Consumer recognition of the high
quality health care services Mercy
provides affirms our mission-driven
commitment to our patients and their
families,” said Mercy’s President & CEO
Dave Vellinga. “Consumers have a choice
where they receive their health care, and
we are truly honored when they choose
Mercy.”
Mercy is proud to be recognized by consumers as providing high quality medical services