Mayo Clinic Hospital Named Top Hospital in Phoenix Area
by Consumers

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

Media Contact: Anne Tewksbury
Public Affairs
480-301-4368

For Immediate Release - September 24, 2003

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Mayo Clinic Hospital has been named the number one choice of hospitals by consumers in the Phoenix metropolitan area for the fifth year in a row by the National Research Corporation (NRC). Mayo Clinic Hospital's selection for the Consumer Choice Award places it among the ranks of the top 174 hospitals nationally, out of 3,000 hospitals named by consumers in the study.

Hospitals are selected for the Consumer Choice Award based on results from the Healthcare Market Guide® Study (HCMG), an annual survey conducted by National Research Corporation (NRC), a firm that specializes in healthcare performance measurement. Categories in which consumers ranked hospitals were Best Overall Quality, Best Doctors, Best Nurses, and Best Image/Reputation. The 2003 HCMG study surveyed more than 140,000 households representing more than 400,000 consumers throughout the United States.

"Continuous improvement and the highest quality patient care are top priorities for us at Mayo Clinic Hospital," says Victor F. Trastek, M.D., chair, Board of Governors, Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. "We are proud to receive this prestigious award again this year. It is a tribute to the dedication of our entire medical, nursing and allied health staff."

More than 52,000 patients have been admitted to Mayo Clinic Hospital since it opened in the fall of 1998. Patients admitted to Mayo Clinic Hospital are cared for by nearly 300 Mayo Clinic physicians who specialize in over 66 medical and surgical disciplines. Located at 56th Street and Mayo Boulevard, in northeast Phoenix, the hospital has 205 licensed medical and surgical beds, an Organ Transplant Program, and an Emergency Department and Urgent Care Center serving the entire community.

Mayo Clinic is a private group practice of medicine dedicated to providing diagnosis and treatment of patient illnesses through a systematic focus on individual patient needs. As a leading academic medical center in the Southwest, Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale focuses on providing specialty and surgical care in more than 66 disciplines at its outpatient facility in north Scottsdale and at Mayo Clinic Hospital. The 205-bed hospital is located at 56th Street and Mayo Boulevard (north of Bell Road) in northeast Phoenix, and provides inpatient care to support the medical and surgical specialties of the Clinic, which is located at 134th Street and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale.

###

To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.