Ever since our first year of business, I look back over the previous year and say, “It just can’t get any better than this.” The Jackson Organization has more than 200 employees passionately dedicated to improving the way healthcare is delivered in America, one system, one hospital at a time.

In 2006, we made so many changes and improvements that fitting it on a single page would be impossible. We moved into our new headquarters with a custom-designed, state-of-the-art call center, successfully launched HCAHPS Dry Runs for well over 100 hospitals, added the Knowledge Network to our website (giving you single-point access to Random Samples newsletters, Success Stories, Discovery Papers, best practices, and webinars), launched version 3.1 of our online reporting system StatData (now with even faster reporting capabilities and access to online HCAHPS recommendations), had our most successful and highest-rated annual conference ever, doubled the survey capacity of our call center, expanded our consulting services with our newly-formed alliance with Custom Learning Systems Group, and raised thousands of dollars for charities. Not exactly what one would call a slow year.

As the premier survey and research organization in America, we strive to provide the best measurements and consultation for all of our clients. Each quarter, we turn things around to see what you think of The Jackson Organization. So, in our most recent survey, how did you rate us? (5 is the highest score)

Third Quarter 2006
- Customer Service………………………….4.44……..0.14 Increase
- Quality of Analysis………………………..4.30……..0.20 Increase
- On-Site Presentations………………….4.44………0.44 Increase
- Finance Helpfulness……………………..4.71……..0.52 Increase
- Consultant Understanding
Objectives and Goals………………………4.52………0.23 Increase
- Project Manager Responsiveness..4.56………0.03 Increase
- Overall Satisfaction……………………..4.32………0.18 Increase

As we predicted, 2006 was a pivotal year for HCAHPS. The Jackson Organization successfully and smoothly administered the 2006 HCAHPS Dry Run for 133 hospitals, and we’ve got more than 100 hospitals already scheduled for the 2007 HCAHPS Dry Run. We’ve been right at the frontlines to bring you crucial HCAHPS updates as they are announced—and this year had plenty of crucial HCAHPS updates. All doubts by any were removed in 2006—HCAHPS is here, and it is here to stay. We even created a dedicated HCAHPS website, www.hcahpsinfo.com, the premiere HCAHPS resource on the web.

The Jackson Organization’s 2006 Creating Excellence in Healthcare Conference at the fabulous Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia was a resounding success. Attendees raved about the keynote speakers and the high-impact breakout sessions. We have already begun preparations for this year’s conference, and we have diligently studied the feedback we received from last year’s attendees in order to make the 2007 Conference the best one yet! Given the overwhelming successes of the 2006 conference, this will be no small challenge.

The Jackson Organization is excited about our newly formed alliance with Custom Learning Systems Group. This alliance combines the survey research expertise of The Jackson Organization and the expanded consulting services of Custom Learning Systems Group. Together, The Jackson Organization is now positioned to be your survey research expert and a full-service consulting partner, offering the full breadth of healthcare research and consulting services.

In fact, I could go on for several pages about the accomplishments of 2006. But most important is what we all have accomplished as partners in improving the way healthcare is delivered in America. This is our driving passion, and everything we’ve done (and will do in 2007 and beyond) will be to serve that purpose. More and more hospitals made the leap from Good to Excellent in 2006, and we’re here to help you achieve even greater levels of Excellence in the coming year.

Keep measuring, keep improving, and keep thriving!


Dave Jackson, MPH
President & CEO

Tuesday, January 30th

Presented by:
Jared Solomon
Advertising and Customer Relationship Manager
Sharp HealthCare

Jared Solomon presented this session at our 2006 Creating Excellence in Healthcare annual conference, and it was among the most attended and praised of all conference sessions. If you missed it (or want to see it again!), now’s your chance to learn the secrets of crafting effective and efficient marketing strategies.

Marketing professionals in the healthcare industry face unique challenges when it comes to preserving budgets, promoting the organization, and justifying the costs of marketing campaigns. Meet these challenges head-on with an effective method for measuring the success of your efforts and proving that marketing is not just a cost, but a valuable revenue stream.

In just 60 minutes, this webinar will cover how to:

• Gain leadership confidence with marketing measurement tools
• Build and use relational databases to measure marketing effectiveness
• Market smarter by having information on your target audiences
• Enhance internal relationships with employees to gain confidence in the community
• Measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns

Jared Solomon, advertising and customer relationship manager for Sharp HealthCare, will lead the webinar. Mr. Solomon has been recognized for his success in developing and implementing successful integrated marketing communications campaigns. He develops system and entity-specific marketing and communications plans, produces ROI projections, works with system and entity CFOs and CEOs to perform post-campaign ROI analysis, and manages creative development, media, and direct marketing to successfully meet strategic needs.

Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Time: 2:00-3:00 ET
Forum:Online webinar
Cost: $99 per facility – the number of participants is unlimited -- Clients save $50 and pay only $49! Email us at info@jacksonorganization.com for the special client invitation code.

Registration Required. Click the link below to register online. Once you click on the link below, enter "Marketing ROI" in the "Search for" box. Click on the meeting and enter the password "jacksonweb".

Instructions on accessing the webinar will be provided with your registration confirmation.

Register Online Now

How to Improve Scores for Nurse and Doctor Kindness

The Jackson Organization’s experts have been developing a wide range of recommendations to help hospitals improve on each and every HCAHPS survey item. This month, we will focus on how to improve patient perceptions of courtesy and respect by nurses and physicians. Even though these are two separate HCAHPS survey items (one for nurses and one for doctors), it takes a comprehensive team-based approach for improvement. In the eyes of the patient, you are all one hospital. The entire patient care team (everyone that interacts with the patient) must work together to improve perceptions of courtesy and respect.

Full Article

"We had to fire an employee recently. Somehow, everyone thinks that we fired this employee for speaking out about a staffing problem. Truth is, the employee was fired for completely different—and completely valid—reasons. For legal reasons, we can’t broadcast why we fired the employee, but the rumor mill is hurting morale. What can we do?

HCAHPS is taking the nation by storm, and it only shows signs of gaining strength. Since the recent announcement by CMS that participation in HCAHPS would be tied to reinbursement levels, hospitals across the nation have realized the need to gear up for HCAHPS in 2007. One of the driving questions revolves around how to comply with HCAHPS. Should you use telephone or mail? Which is the best solution for your HCAHPS needs? This Discovery Paper, based on The Jackson Organization's HCAHPS Dry Run administration for 133 hospitals, will show that not only do you get the best participation rates with telephone, you'll have more accurate scores as well.

Full Article

IT Departments are essential to the health of any organization, and the IT Team of The Jackson Organization is no exception. When they’re not working on massive software design projects, they’re responsible for fixing every broken mouse, flickering monitor, frayed cable, and buggy program strung across hundreds of computers. In addition to keeping the entire company running smoothly day after day, the IT Team’s recent achievements include an improved StatData® Online Reporting System and a new Project Tracking system. To show them how much we appreciate them, we held a surprise party to shower them with bagels, juice and accolades.

Our IT Team delivered a new and improved version of StatData ahead of schedule, which has been met with incredible enthusiasm from our clients. “It’s faster and has several new custom-report features that our clients love,” said Laura Phillips, Project Manager. “Everybody is happy with the improvements—IT went to incredible lengths to address the feedback and suggestions we’d received from clients.”

The new Project Tracking system was another cause for celebration. “With the new system, we have a single-point of access to all project details. This allows us to find exactly what we need in record time—allowing us to take even better care of our clients,” said Lisa Schleupner, Project Manager.

Everyone in the room shared their positive experiences with IT.

“Three-day tickets get answered in 3 minutes.”
“They take care of things before they break.”
“You can count on them to deliver, every time.”
“They are one of the major reasons for our success.”

Have you thanked your IT department lately? Make sure you take the time to recognize the contributions made by your IT team.