Fayetteville VA ranks #1 for trust in recent Veteran survey.

FAYETTEVILLE, AR (July 10, 2023) – In the most recent survey on Veteran trust, the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks was the top ranked VA hospital system in the South Central VA Health Care Network.

“At the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks, we believe every patient deserves not only the highest quality medical treatment, but also a warm and welcoming experience” said Chief of Staff James Slezak, M.D, FACS. “Our team strives to deliver outstanding customer service because we understand that healing starts with exceptional care and a supportive environment.”

Every three months, VA surveys its patients and analyzes trust score interactions through ease, effectiveness, and emotion, all of which impact the overall trust the customer has in the organization. The South Central VA Health Care Network includes VA medical centers and clinics in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, southeast Texas, and northwest Florida.

“Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors have served and sacrificed for our country, and now, it’s our job to serve them as well as they’ve served us,” said Slezak, who is board certified in General Surgery. “This starts with listening to the voice of the Veteran community and then using this feedback to design VA customer experiences that are easy, effective, and delivered with empathy.”

According to Medicare’s latest nationwide survey of patients, VA hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals on all 10 core patient satisfaction metrics — including overall Hospital Rating, Communication with Doctors, Communication about Medication, Willingness to Recommend the Hospital, and more. These findings align with a recent systematic review of more than 40 peer-reviewed studies, which found that VA health care is consistently as good as — or better than — non-VA health care. Crucially, Veterans also trust VA to coordinate their care, with trust levels for VA exceeding 90% nationally, whether care is received in VA or through a community provider.  

Accredited by The Joint Commission, the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks provides Veterans with health care at eight locations in northwest Arkansas, southwest Missouri, and eastern Oklahoma. The array of health care services includes primary care, mental health care, specialty care, women's clinic, pharmacy, social work, surgery, and nutrition services. New services include Uber Health Connect for BeneTravel eligible Veterans and Virtual Health Resource Clinic (VHRC) which provides in-person and virtual support for Telehealth, Mobile Health, My HealtheVet, Devices, Benetravel, Eligibility, PACT Act and much more.