Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla Earns 2004/2005 Consumer Choice Award

For the third time in four years, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla has earned the 2004/2005 Consumer Choice Award by the National Research Corporation (NRC) for the San Diego region. The Consumer Choice Award is given to the hospitals whose consumers have chosen as having the highest quality and image in 154 markets throughout the U.S. This is the ninth year NRC has awarded hospitals whose consumers have recognized them for providing quality healthcare services. Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla also earned the honor in 2001 and 2003.

The winners are determined by consumer perceptions on multiple quality and image ratings collected in the company’s annual NRC Healthcare Market Guide Study® (HCMG).Of the 3,000 hospitals named by consumers in the study, the winning facilities rank highest in their Metropolitan Statistical Areas, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2004 HCMG study surveyed more than 140,000 households representing 400,000 consumers in the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia.

We are honored that San Diegans have again chosen Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla as the local hospital with the highest quality and image in the region in the NRC survey," said Gary Fybel, Chief Executive of Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. Our mission and our values emphasize providing quality, safe, cost-effective and socially responsible health services. I know that our employees, physicians and volunteers strive to fulfill that mission every day and it is extremely rewarding to know that our patients and their families recognize our commitment to quality health care.

The 2004/2005 Healthcare Market Guide is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. No other study used to rate hospitals contains more consumer responses than NRC’s study. The study has a margin of error of + or 0.26 percent at a national level. Co-winners are named when scores fall within the statistical margin of error for a given market. National Research Corporation (NASDAQ: NRCI) is a recognized industry leader, with more than two decades of experience in healthcare specific performance measurement.

Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla is a part of Scripps Health, a not-for-profit, community-based health care system that includes more than 2,600 affiliated physicians, five acute care hospitals, an ambulatory care network, and home health care services.

Scripps employs about 10,500 people in San Diego County and treats 525,000 patients
annually. Recognized as a world leader in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, Scripps is in the forefront of prevention, medical innovation, clinical research and technology. Recent accolades include: Best Hospital in San Diego, San Diego Union-Tribune Readers’ Poll, (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004); 100 Most Wired Health Systems, 2004, Hospitals & Health Networks; Best Employer for Employees Over 50, AARP, 2004; Best Local Large Employer, 2004, SHRM, San Diego.