Shawnee Mission Health Recognized For Excellence in Employee Engagement

Merriam, Kan. Adventist Health System (AHS), which includes Shawnee Mission Health (SMH), has received the 2016 Gallup Great Workplace Award, created to recognize organizations for their extraordinary ability to promote engaged workplace cultures that drive positive results. This is the sixth consecutive year that AHS and all of its hospital campuses, including SMH, has received the award.

Each year, a panel of Gallup workplace experts evaluates applicants and assesses them against select criteria in a comprehensive workplace study. Gallup's rigorous scientific research links employee engagement to nine performance outcomes such as customer ratings, productivity and quality. Studies show that when employees are engaged, they are passionate, creative and entrepreneurial, and their enthusiasm fuels growth. These employees are emotionally connected to their company's mission and purpose.

We are honored to receive this recognition and share it with the more than 78,000 associates who make up Adventist Health System, said Ken Bacon, president and CEO of SMH. A highly engaged workforce allows us to create meaningful patient experiences and consistently provide advanced and compassionate care.

Winners of this years award comprise a prestigious group of organizations that average a ratio of engaged employees more than seven times what Gallup found in nationally representative U.S. polling, and more than 21 times what Gallup found in workforces globally.

The worlds top-performing organizations help lead the global economy by engaging their workforces, said Jim Harter, Ph.D., Gallups chief scientist of workplace management and well-being. Gallup's Great Workplace Award winners understand and acknowledge the importance of employee engagement by making it a vital part of their organization.

According to Gallup, all of this years award recipients have shown measurable impact as a result of having a more engaged workforce. They have achieved this by integrating engagement into four areas identified as vital to cultivating a workplace culture of engagement:

• Strategy and leadership
• Accountability and performance
• Communication and knowledge management
• Development and ongoing learning.

This is the second recent workplace recognition award for AHS, who also was named one of the 150 Great Places to Work in Healthcare by Beckers Hospital Review.

About Shawnee Mission Health

SMH is a network of health care facilities and services located throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area and surrounding communities. The network includes Shawnee Mission Medical Center (SMMC) in Merriam, Kan., a 504-bed facility with more than 22,000 inpatient admissions and more than 200,000 outpatient admissions annually; SMH Prairie Star, a comprehensive health care facility located in western Lenexa, Kan.; Centra Care Shawnee Mission Urgent Care and physician practices located throughout Johnson and Leavenworth Counties. SMH serves more than 72,000 patients in its emergency departments annually, has the area's first accredited Chest Pain Emergency Center and delivers more babies each year at SMMC than any other hospital in the metropolitan area. SMH also has some of the highest customer service or HCAHPS scores in the Kansas City metro. The network employs more than 3,200 local residents and supports an exceptional staff of nearly 700 physicians representing 50 medical specialties, the largest medical staff of any full-service hospital in Kansas City. Visit us online at ShawneeMission.org.

About Adventist Health System

AHS is a faith-based health care organization headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida. A national leader in quality, safety and patient satisfaction, AHS's more than 78,000 employees maintain a tradition of whole-person health by caring for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of every patient.

With 46 hospital campuses and more than 8,300 licensed beds in ten states, AHS facilities incorporate the latest technological advancements and clinical research to serve more than 4.7 million patients annually. The full continuum of integrated care also includes urgent care centers, home health and hospice agencies, and skilled nursing facilities.

Each AHS facility operates independently in delivering care and services to best meet the needs of the local communities they serve. While each entity is unique, all remain united in one mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ.

About Gallup

Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 80 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students and citizens than any other organization in the world. Gallup works with leaders and organizations to achieve breakthroughs in customer engagement, employee engagement, organizational culture and identity, leadership development, talent-based assessments, entrepreneurship and well-being.