COVINGTON – St. Tammany Health System’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital has again been recognized with Healthgrades’ Outstanding Patient Experience Award. It is the hospital’s third consecutive year earning the national honor, which recognizes hospitals that excel at delivering top-quality care while ensuring a positive patient experience.
This year's recipients include 373 hospitals from 46 states and represent the top 15% of hospitals nationwide for patient experience.
“This recognition reflects the compassion, professionalism and commitment our colleagues bring to every patient interaction, every day,” said Joan Coffman, president and CEO of St. Tammany Health System. “At St. Tammany Health System, we believe exceptional healthcare is about more than clinical excellence alone. It is also about listening, communicating clearly and treating every patient and family with dignity, empathy and respect. We are grateful to our colleagues for making that experience possible.”
For its annual analysis, which focused on hospital admissions from January to December 2024, Healthgrades evaluated Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) patient survey data across 10 key patient experience measures from 3,020 hospitals that submitted at least 100 patient experience surveys to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Hospitals in the bottom 20% for overall clinical quality were excluded from consideration.
Recipients of the 2026 Outstanding Patient Experience Award earned the highest overall experience scores, reflecting an unwavering commitment to exceptional, individualized care.
Healthgrades' analysis also identified three aspects of patient experience that best predict whether a patient will recommend a hospital to friends and family:
- Doctor communication.
- Nurse communication.
- Clear communication about care when discharged.
“Better patient experiences are correlated with better health outcomes, which is why patients should always consider patient experience during the care search,” said Dr. Alana Biggers, MPH, medical advisor at Healthgrades. “Healthgrades’ Outstanding Patient Experience Award recognizes hospitals that prioritize high-quality, patient-centered care and ensure that patients feel heard, empowered and confident throughout the care journey.”
Visit Healthgrades.com for its full profile of St. Tammany Parish Hospital and to review the methodology used by Healthgrades to formulate its Outstanding Patient Experience Award recipient list.
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About St. Tammany Health System
The heartbeat of its community, St. Tammany Health System cares for patients and families with excellence, compassion and teamwork. It is recognized for quality, safety and service excellence by CareChex, Leapfrog, Healthgrades, Hospital Compare, Women’s Choice and US News & World Report. St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 and Ochsner Health work together in partnership to improve the community’s health and quality of life. Together, west St. Tammany’s top two independent health leaders represent the most complete system of care, aligning behind the common goals of improving access, expanding specialty care and making care affordable. Under their agreement, each retains its autonomy; neither manages nor owns the other. Self-supporting, not-for-profit STHS is A+ rated by Fitch and receives no tax funding. More at StTammany.health.
About Healthgrades
Healthgrades is dedicated to empowering meaningful connections between patients, doctors and hospitals. As the #1 platform for finding a doctor and a leader in healthcare transparency, we help millions of consumers each month find and schedule appointments with their healthcare professional of choice and prepare for their appointments with best-in-class, treatment-focused content.