STHS Edinburg Awarded 2024 Service Excellence Award By Parent Company Leaders During Special Ceremony

It’s the first time a South Texas Health System facility has received the prestigious award from its parent company, Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS)

In the hospital setting, Service Excellence goes well beyond providing quality, compassionate care. From their first interaction with admissions staff to their final conversation with the discharge team, it impacts every aspect of a patient’s journey and allows them to feel valued and supported.

A cornerstone of sustainable business success, patient satisfaction and loyalty, Service Excellence is the foundation for building trust, fostering strong customer relationships and driving growth by consistently exceeding customer expectations.

It requires adopting a patient-centric approach that emphasizes empathy, clear communication and personalized care while cultivating a positive organizational culture that empowers and trains staff to deliver high-quality, compassionate service with every patient interaction.

Service Excellence is also a key driver in healthcare, with 82% of patients citing quality customer service as the most important factor when choosing a provider, according to the National Institutes of Health, with targeted interventions, including staff training in communication and empathy, have been shown to improve patient experience scores.

For Universal Health Services, Inc., South Texas Health System’s parent company, Service Excellence entails the delivery of professional, timely, effective and efficient care to all customers always.

In recognition of exceptional service quality and patient experience, UHS leaders present its Service Excellence Award annually to one of its nearly 30 acute care facilities in the United States that demonstrates outstanding performance in generating a positive patient experience and a steadfast commitment to delivering a high standard of care.

During a special community celebration on Thursday, September 30, 2025, UHS President and CEO Marc Miller and Edward Sim, Executive Vice President and President, Acute Care, officially presented the official 2024 UHS Service Excellence Award to STHS Edinburg and STHS Children’s, with the leader of the facilities, Lance Ames, receiving the award on behalf of the entire hospital team.

“Receiving the Service Excellence Award highlights the significant work and resolute commitment of each and every one of our exceptional team members at STHS Edinburg and STHS Children’s,” says Lance Ames, Chief Executive Officer, STHS Edinburg & STHS Children’s. “In their daily desire to provide exceptional care to every patient we serve, they have consistently created a positive patient experience through empathy, communication and personalized care across all departments—from hospital leadership to our clinical, support, technical and administrative staff—resulting in improved health outcomes and strong community confidence in the care we deliver to our patients and their families.”

It’s the first time any South Texas Health System facility has claimed the prestigious award, which it earned for the facilities’ overall patient experience score and the continuous efforts at STHS Edinburg and STHS Children’s throughout 2024 to drive continuous improvement.

“I’m not surprised at all that STHS Edinburg has earned the prestigious award from its parent company; the facility has been in our community for a long time, consistently providing quality care to our residents,” says Mayor Ramiro Garza, Jr., City of Edinburg, who spoke during the event. “The service provided at STHS Edinburg is unparalleled, and it means that our resident can count on excellent quality care. And I want to say thank you to the facility’s 900+ employees who work hard every day for all that they do to take care of our community.”

During the event, Texas State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and Texas State Rep. Terry Canales presented the facility with an American flag, which was flown over the U.S. Capitol, in honor of STHS Edinburg’s national recognition.

It’s the latest award presented to STHS Edinburg. Earlier this year, the facility was the only Rio Grande Valley facility named a Best Regional Hospital by U.S. News & World Report, an honor it has earned exclusively for four consecutive years. The facility has also earned national recognition in the last year for its stroke care, rehabilitation services and women’s services.

For more information on STHS Edinburg and STHS Children’s, as well as the comprehensive services available at the facilities, visit www.southtexashealthsystemedinburg.com and www.southtexashealthsystemchildrens.com.

About South Texas Health System

South Texas Health System is a multi-facility healthcare system serving patients throughout the Rio Grande Valley. The system includes four acute care facility campuses with specialties in pediatrics, heart and vascular services, maternity and women’s health and trauma services. Inpatient and outpatient treatment for behavioral health needs and addictive disorders is also provided through the system’s South Texas Health System Behavioral facility. South Texas Health System is affiliated with the South Texas Clinical Partners ACO, Prominence Health Plan and Cornerstone Regional Hospital. The system operates an advanced Level I Trauma Center at South Texas Health System McAllen, the first freestanding children’s facility and pediatric ER at South Texas Health System Children’s, the region’s only freestanding heart hospital and specialized cardiac ER at South Texas Health System Heart and seven freestanding emergency rooms located in and around Weslaco, Mission, Edinburg, McAllen, Pharr and Alamo. For more information about the system and its comprehensive services, please visit www.southtexashealthsystem.com.