For a second consecutive year, King’s Daughters Medical Center of Brookhaven has received the 2014 Women’s Choice Award for being voted one of America’s Best Hospitals for Patient Experience by women.

This distinction is the only award that identifies the country’s best healthcare institutions based on robust criteria that consider female patient satisfaction and what women say they want from a hospital including quality physician communications, responsiveness of nurses and support staff, cleanliness and trusted referrals from other women, according to a press release announcing the award.

“KDMC is honored to be recognized as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience for the second year in a row,” KDMC CEO Alvin Hoover said. “This award recognizes our passion, dedication and commitment to always provide quality health and wellness in a Christian environment.”

Cheri Walker, hospital chief nursing officer, said, “This award solidifies all of our employees’ desire and dedication to provide the very best healthcare possible for our community. The recognition is not only the medical staff but all of the supporting services here at KDMC.”

Hospitals named as America’s Best are invited to join an elite network of brands, across multiple industries, which carry the Women’s Choice Award, symbolizing their commitment to women.

“We’ve identified America’s Best Hospitals across our nation to help women make smart healthcare choices for themselves and their family members,” said Delia Passi, CEO and founder of WomenCertified(r), home to the Women’s Choice Award, and former publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines.

“Being treated with the proper level of care impacts one’s health, well-being and healing so it is critical for women to know those hospitals that have demonstrated the highest level of quality care to their patients, with a special focus on the female experience,” Passi said. “We’re putting the power of choice in the woman’s hands with the information to simplify her choice.

“A woman expects more from a hospital experience and takes her role as the primary healthcare decision maker seriously,” Passi added. “More than ever she is self-managing her care by choosing her hospital prior to choosing her doctors. This allows her more control over her hospital stay outcome based on the quality of care she can expect from a Women’s Choice Award hospital.”

The America’s 100 Best Hospitals scoring process is unique in that it is the only national list that focuses on female patient satisfaction. The process begins with scores derived for each hospital in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) database.

The score takes a subset of the questions HCAHPS uses that research and experience shows are more important to women than to men. Weight is applied to each of those questions to adjust for relative importance to arrive at a numerical score. Additionally, scoring incorporates WomenCertified’s in-depth research on customer satisfaction among women, including a joint study on customer satisfaction by gender conducted with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

The best 100 scores in each of the four size categories determine the America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Outstanding Patient Experience award winners. The four size categories include hospitals with up to 100 beds, 101-250 beds, 251-400 beds, and 401-plus beds. WomenCertified accepts absolutely no payment in exchange for placement on the list.

“Recognizing the best hospitals nationwide that are women-friendly and align with women’s identified preferences is important to our mission, where women help other women with tough, consumer decisions,” Passi said. “Most importantly, when a woman sees the Women’s Choice Award at her local hospital, she’ll know the hospital values her experience as a critical component of her and her loved one’s care.”

For more information about the Women’s Choice Award, visit their website at womenschoiceaward.com.