KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.,
Dec. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) issued the following
statement today in response to an article on BuzzFeed:
We are aware of a recent story on BuzzFeed about UHS, and
certain Behavioral Health affiliate facilities. We dispute and deny
the conclusions drawn by the reporter in relation to UHS and
believe that the story misses the mark in several important ways
leading to an inaccurate portrayal of UHS's behavioral health
operations. Among other things, the story ignores the
preeminent role of the clinician in treating patients, and misleads
the reader by attempting to make unsupported assumptions about our
behavioral health operations. The reporter seriously diminishes the
complexity of behavioral health assessments and treatment necessary
to properly care for the individual patient based upon their
specific needs. The article also minimizes the important role
played by the thousands of dedicated and compassionate employees in
our behavioral health facilities, who are the most important part
of our mission to provide the best possible healthcare to our
patients.
For nearly 40 years, UHS has focused first and foremost on
patient care. Such longevity is only accomplished through
dedication and focus on providing appropriate care and treatment to
our patients. All UHS Behavioral Health facilities are fully
accredited by independent organizations including The Joint
Commission (TJC) whose rigorous accreditation and quality
assessment protocols are widely respected throughout the healthcare
industry. UHS's Behavioral Health facilities also maintain a strong
track record of positive recognition on other evidence-based
indicators including CMS' Hospital-Based Inpatient Psychiatric
Services & Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Quality Reporting
System. UHS' consistent multi-decade record of positive
achievements confirms that we are an industry leader in clinical
quality.
Over the past four years, 83 UHS facilities (both Acute Care and
Behavioral Health) were designated as Top Performers on Key
Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission. In the
Behavioral Health Division, over half of UHS's eligible facilities
(69) received this distinguished recognition for the quality of our
services during this period.
Our patients consistently report high levels of satisfaction
with the care they receive. In 2015, UHS patient satisfaction
survey scores were 4.5 out of 5 and have increased annually over
the past seven years. In 2015, UHS Behavioral Health facilities
treated almost 450,000 in-patients, amounting to over 5.8 million
patient days.
Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) is one of the largest and
most respected hospital management companies in the nation. Today,
UHS subsidiaries own and/or operate more than 240 acute care
hospitals and behavioral health facilities in 37 states,
Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, U.S.
Virgin Islands and the U.K. UHS constantly strives to
put patients first while adhering to the highest clinical
performance standards. For additional information on the Company,
visit our web site: http://www.uhsinc.com.
Certain statements in this release may constitute
forward-looking statements and are subject to various risks and
uncertainties as discussed in the Company's filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is not
obligated to update these forward-looking statements even if the
Company's assessment of these risks and uncertainties changes.
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SOURCE Universal Health Services, Inc.