SPOONER HEALTH HONORED WITH THREE AWARDS FOR EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE FROM PRESS GANEY
Spooner Health is excited to share that they have received a total of three employee experience awards for 2025 from Press Ganey, the global leader in healthcare experience solutions and services. The awards include the coveted 2025 Human Experience (HX) Pinnacle of Excellence Award®, as well as Guardian of Excellence Awards® in both Acute Care and Community Hospital categories. These awards are part of Press Ganey’s annual ranking of top hospitals and health systems in the country, according to performance in employee experience.
Spooner Health has achieved an extraordinary 99th percentile for the past three years for their employee experience. The organization has been above the 90th percentile for the past 15 years.
“We are overjoyed to receive this recognition for our high employee engagement,” shared Cindy Rouzer, Human Resource Director. “Our team has worked hard to create a culture that not only provides the best environment for excellent patient care but is also somewhere that our employees enjoy working. One of our goals many years ago was to become the employer of choice for healthcare in our region, and we’re incredibly proud of the work we’ve done to achieve this.”
Since 2008, Spooner Health has been on a journey called the “Commitment to Excellence”. What began with hiring a consulting agency originally named The Studer Group, would eventually lead to a complete culture shift making Spooner Health one of the top employers in the nation for Employee Experience.
“One thing I’ve noticed since we began our ‘Commitment to Excellence’ is a clear shift from what is best for the patient to enhancing the entire patient experience,” shared Nate Simeth, a 19-year employee in the Diagnostic Imaging Department. “With that shift, we’re seeing stronger patient engagement which leads to better health outcomes. Another meaningful change is how the culture between departments has improved, making for a more collaborative environment.”
“My experience at Spooner Health has improved drastically since I began working here over 25 years ago,” shared Rachel Keenan, RN in Spooner Health’s Inpatient Department. “When I first started, I felt like I worked for a traditional company; one where I didn’t feel included in decisions and didn’t feel like I was truly part of the team. As the culture shifted, I actually began to look forward to coming to work. I have seen a huge improvement in communication between departments which has positively impacted my patients’ plan of care. Leadership listens, asks for my feedback, and truly cares about providing high-quality care for our patients and making this a place where employees enjoy working.”
This collaboration creates an environment that puts the patient at the center of everything that happens at Spooner Health. An example of that care is the care team rounds that are done on the Inpatient floor. Rather than the team gathering in a meeting room to discuss a patient’s care plan, progress, and goals, those conversations are done alongside the patient in their room, so that their voice is heard and taken into consideration. Care team rounds are just one example of the impact that the ‘Commitment to Excellence’ journey had on improving not only employee experience but ultimately creating an atmosphere where patients receive the very best care possible.
“When we started our ‘commitment to excellence’ journey, we set a goal of reaching the 90th percentile,” said Mike Schafer, Chief Executive Officer. “That goal was not only exceeded in two years, but we’ve been able to maintain our success for over a decade. This success is what makes receiving care at Spooner Health stand out; our employees enjoy coming to work, they enjoy caring for our patients, and it shows in the work they do.”
Spooner Health was recognized as 1 of only 5 healthcare providers in the nation to receive the Press Ganey HX Pinnacle of Excellence Award® for Employee Experience in 2025. Press Ganey works with more than 41,000 healthcare facilities in its mission to reduce patient suffering and enhance caregiver resilience to improve the overall safety, quality, and experience of care.
“Spooner Health exemplifies what’s possible when employee experience is prioritized as a core part of healthcare excellence,” said Patrick T. Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Press Ganey. “Their commitment is setting a powerful standard for what great care truly looks like.”
To learn more about Spooner Health, visit SpoonerHealth.com.