An Exceptional Experience, Every Time - Centra Forest Urgent Care Team Increases Patient Experience Scores by Almost 30 Points
Centra's collective journey to provide an excellent experience to our patients is represented by our four CARE behaviors: Compassionate Communication, Accountable, Reaffirm Trust and Every Moment. Recently, one team at Centra was recognized for their progressive work and notable improvement in their patient experience scores.
By collaborating as a team, Centra Forest Urgent Care has driven progress in multiple areas. Their “likelihood of recommending score” has increased from the 46th percentile in 2024 to the 65th percentile in 2025 and is now reaching the 74th percentile year-to-date in 2026. Their current Top Box score of 85.74% reflects an increase of more than 7% since 2024. This significant improvement is inspiring, reminding us that it is possible with hard work and consistency to raise scores.
We were curious about what they attributed the increase in scores to, so we asked Robbie Price, a nurse practitioner and member of the team, to share more about their approach.
"The improvement in our Press Ganey scores really cannot be attributed to one specific initiative or one individual. It reflects the collective efforts of an incredible team of providers and staff at Forest Urgent Care who consistently put patients at the center of the experience,” he said.
Because they see primarily sick patients, they focus on ensuring their comfort through warm blankets, cold drinks, aggressive symptom management early for fevers, pain and nausea. When it comes to treating kids, popsicles and stickers are involved too.
Robbie went on to share, “I firmly believe patient experience is a team sport. From the front desk to clinical staff to providers, every interaction matters. Our team has worked hard to create an environment where patients feel heard, cared for, and supported during what is often a stressful or unexpected visit.”
This has been aided by developing an "estimated" wait time for walk-in visits, so patients have an idea of what their wait time will be instead of sitting for long periods wondering when they will be seen. They have also made a concerted effort to provide patients with an after-visit summary. This has led to improvement in their scores around questions related to patients feeling knowledgeable about their care plan which consequently has helped lift their total score.
Lastly, he added, “A big part of that success is the culture our team has built together. Through intentional team building (monthly themes, events, games) and creating a supportive atmosphere, our staff genuinely enjoy working alongside one another, and I believe our patients can feel the difference that makes. A team of engaged Caregivers equals a great patient experience."
Michelle Seifert, the manager of the practice, works to be transparent with the team about the comments they receive through Press Ganey. She shares them all weekly–the good, the bad and the ugly while also celebrating staff who receive a positive comment. The providers also receive their monthly scores, so they can keep a pulse on how they’re doing.
Richard Tugman and several other leaders visited Forest on May 8 to recognize the Caregivers there for outstanding performance and to present them with the inaugural "The Jacques Award" for exceptional care.
When presenting the award, he shared, “We are proud to recognize the team at Forest Urgent Care for their outstanding dedication to delivering an exceptional experience for their patients. They have created meaningful and positive interactions at every encounter, embodying our CARE behavior of ‘Every Moment’.”
A few notable patient comments that they’ve received this year include: “From calling to make an appointment, check in, seeing the nurse and then the doctor, the whole experience was very well run and efficient. Everyone was kind and professional.”
“Staff was sympathetic, heard in my voice the urgency that I needed to be seen. They all seemed to work together to get me seen and on my way home.”
“When you're sick, you feel really vulnerable. I have to say that the staff at this facility were an actual comfort to me because they seemed concerned and caring. I really appreciated not only their professionalism but their compassionate humanity.”
