This award is given to an individual or team in recognition of outstanding patient satisfaction. Metrics can include Press Ganey Satisfaction Score, most improved score, and/or other patient feedback.

2023 / 2022 / 2021 / 2020 / 2019 / 2018 / 2017 / 2016 / 2015 / 2014 / 2013 / 2012 / 2011

2023 Winner

Matthew Lanternier, MD, Family Medicine
 
Matthew Lanternier, MD, consistently leads the Department of Family Medicine in patient satisfaction scores. Drilling down to the “Care Provider” section of the Press Ganey survey reveals a top box score of 93%, equating to a national rank in the 98th percentile. Many of Lanternier’s patients and their family members have been cared for by him for years, if not decades, and their comments tell the story of his empathy and compassion. He truly shares his wisdom with his complex patients and attentively listens to each patient to promote individualized health and well-being. His humble and steady style has impacted countless medical students and future physicians in the many years he has been with UI Health Care.

2022 Winner

ALS Multidisciplinary Clinic Team

The University of Iowa ALS Multidisciplinary Clinic consistently provides outstanding patient care to our ALS population. There is no effective treatment or cure for ALS; multidisciplinary care is the standard of care and improves quality of life and survival for a disease with a prognosis of 2 to 5 years. Our clinic team exemplifies this care model with providers and therapists who are experts in ALS care. The clinic supports patients and families throughout the state of Iowa and western Illinois. Adjusting to the progressive debilitation due to ALS, this clinic team has been innovative in delivering patient-centered care. When evaluated in person, a patient and family members will remain in one clinic room with each of our providers and therapists rotating through the rooms. In a single clinic visit, patients are evaluated by our neurologist, nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, respiratory therapist, mental health counselor, genetic counselor, and social worker.

2021 Winner

Kenneth Nepple, MD and Caryn Berkowitz, MD, Urology and Internal Medicine

The work of Dr. Nepple and Dr. Berkowitz has improved the identification and management of malnutrition at UIHC and nationally. Their work has demonstrated a substantial benefit for patients, providers, and institution. For hospital inpatients, identification of medical comorbidities is an important measure of severity of illness and impacts both hospital reimbursement and risk adjustment for quality measures. Dr. Nepple and team initially used Vizient data to confirm that malnutrition (MN) was being under-diagnosed at academic medical centers. As a result, the UIHC MN identification workflow was re-designed to leverage informatics for better documentation. Dr. Berkowitz subsequently developed a multidisciplinary Advanced Nutrition inpatient consult service to help manage patients with malnutrition to directly improve patient outcomes.

2020 Winner

Carryn Anderson, MD, Radiation Oncology

“This is a tremendous honor,” says Anderson, MD, head of the Head and Neck Treatment Team. “What I love about it the most is that it’s a team award.”  

2019 Winner

Alicia Gerke, MD, MBA, Internal Medicine

Alicia Gerke, who completed a fellowship in pulmonary, critical care, and occupational medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine before joining the UI Carver College of Medicine faculty, is an expert on sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that affects the lungs in a majority of cases. As a clinician, Gerke has earned praise from colleagues and patients for her expertise, her clinical skills, and her caring manner. She has developed the national web-based provider site to consult about diagnostic and therapeutic options for providers taking care of sarcoidosis patients. Part of this web-based system is open for patients. Gerke organized and hosted the American Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders (AASOG) meeting in Iowa City in April 2019, where she was elected president of this society.

2018 Winner

Kelly Skelly, MD, Family Medicine

Kelly Skelly personifies patient satisfaction and service excellence. She consistently leads the department in patient satisfaction scores. Her Press Ganey scores are exemplary and her patients’ comments detail her compassion and commitment to their health and well-being. She leads by example with her clinical care and service to the department. Her self-deprecating attitude, sense of humor, and wisdom complements her great talents as a physician, educator, mentor, and colleague. 

2017 Winner

Melinda Seering, MD, Anesthesia

Melinda Seering was appointed clinical director of Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) in 2015. With her leadership, ASC patient satisfaction scores have remained consistently high. For example, patients rate the ASC at the 85th to 90th percentile in patient communication, both pre‐ and post‐operatively. The ASC is also consistently above the 90th percentile level for the likelihood to recommend the service to others. Pain control after surgery is another important factor, and patients consistently rate ASC pain control at the 85th to 90th percentile. Seering has worked to increase ASC accessibility to many departments, including Neurosurgery (spinal cord stimulators, neurostimulator battery changes), Vascular Surgery (vein ligations), Orthopedics (total joints and laminectomies), and Urology. She also has opened the ASC to patients from Labor and Delivery (tubal ligations, cerclages). Seering and the ASC team consistently provide excellent clinical care that both patients and their doctors recognize and appreciate.

2016 Winner

Gwen Beck, MD, Internal Medicine

2015 Winner

Veronika Kolder, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

2014 Winner

Charles Clark, MD
Dr. Michael Bonfigilo Professor in Orthopaedics

2013 Winner

Janet Schlechte, MD
Professor of Internal Medicine

The loyalty and devotion that Dr. Janet Schlechte’s patients profess for her is gratifying and enduring. She has been and continues to be one the Department of Internal Medicine’s top performers, scoring in the 99th percentile nationally on patient satisfaction scores. In her recent role as interim director for the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, her enthusiasm for service excellence has had an effect on her faculty and, notably, has not diminished with her many additional administrative responsibilities. 

2012 Winner

Kelly Ward, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Kelly Ward exemplifies the qualities of outstanding patient service. She is consistently mentioned in weekly patient satisfaction reports for her sincerity and genuine ability to make each patient a priority, even during her off-clinic hours.

2011 Winner

Marlan Hansen, MD
Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery

Dr. Marlan Hansen is a highly skilled and hardworking physician and surgeon who is always eager to help others, especially his patients. Watching him in the operating room is similar to watching the delicate fingerlings of a virtuoso violinist, as he dissects tumor from cranial nerves. Dr. Hansen's patience, teaching and dedication to his patients make him an excellent model for future academic physicians.