Newton Memorial surgical staff ranks among the best in the Garden State

NEWTON, N.J. n Newton Memorial Hospital’s surgical team ranked among the top five percent of New Jersey hospitals in patient satisfaction surveys that measured the “skill of the physician” during the latter half of 2006. “Dr. (John) O’Brien is excellent n his colleagues are also,” a patient said in a Nov. 2006 patient satisfaction report. “I left (feeling) very comfortable and didn’t feel like a number. He really took time to explain.” Another patient said in 2006, “My physician, Dr. (Stephen) Koss, was great. I was fortunate that he was the orthopedic surgeon on call that day.” Koss, who is the chief of Newton Memorial Hospital’s Department of Surgery, credited his team for the outstanding scores, and said they remain committed to providing patients with high-quality care in a safe, friendly environment. “The surgical staff at Newton Memorial Hospital is excellent,” Koss said. “We are all very well trained in our surgical specialty. All of us are board certified and many of us are fellowship trained in a particular subspecialty interest. We do an excellent job of taking care of our patients and it shows.” Press Ganey Associates, the survey company used by Newton Memorial Hospital, is the most widely used company in health care across the nation. In New Jersey, they survey 70 hospitals and 888 hospitals across the country.