VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System Amongst the Best in the Country for Veteran Trust

The VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System (VAEKHCS) which includes the Colmery O’Neil VA Medical Center, Topeka Kansas and the Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center, Leavenworth Kansas was recently named one of the best medical facilities in the state of Kansas for patient satisfaction by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

The CMS patient survey rating is determined through the Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) and includes any hospital that accepts Medicare funding and VA facilities. Of all hospitals in this category, covering a 50 miles radius between Manhattan, KS and Olathe, KS, patients will find their Kansas VA medical centers sit amongst the top. 

VAEKHCS which employees approximately 2000 employees and serves nearly 40,000 Veterans has been a leader in health care quality for many years, when compared to both community and VA hospitals. Now this healthcare quality is aligned with a 4-star rating out of 5 in customer satisfaction and patient experience, creating an exceptional patient encounter for Veterans throughout eastern Kansas and western Missouri.  

When it comes to trust, the VAEKHCS Patient Experience Trust Rating (over 6,000 survey responses) is 90.2% for 2021. In comparison, the 2021 VA National Trust Score was at 89.9%. This customer experience survey asks for ratings across seven domains: Ease, Efficiency/Speed, Quality, Employee Helpfulness, Equity, Satisfaction, and Trust. VA Eastern Kansas continues to score over 90% in all domains. 

“At VA Eastern Kansas, our team is dedicated, committed, and loyal in providing care for our nation’s heroes, our Veterans. We strive to be the best in all we do and while surveys may document this, our patients confirm it through trusting us,” said VAEKHCS Director and CEO Rudy Klopfer. “Our Veterans gave their all and it’s our responsibility to not only give them our all, but to give them the very best in all we do.”

HCAHPS is the first national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients’ perspectives of hospital care. The HCAHPS Survey (pronounced “H-caps”) is a 29-item instrument and data collection methodology for measuring patients’ perceptions of their hospital experience.  HCAHPS allows valid comparisons to be made across hospitals — locally, regionally, and nationally.  The survey was nationally implemented in 2006 and public reporting of hospital scores began in 2008.

Hospital scores and comparison can be accessed through Medicare.gov

If not enrolled in VA care already, reach out to 913-680-200 Ext: 51408 or visit: www.va.gov

Sarah Dernovish