SOUTH BEND, Ind., Aug. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Press Ganey Associates, Inc., a recognized leader in health care performance improvement, today announced that David Costello, Ph.D., has joined as Chief Analytics Officer. Costello will focus on enhancing analytics solutions, providing greater profiling of patients and clients, and delivering predictive modeling and segmentation solutions. Costello joins Press Ganey's team of professionals, including Dennis Kaldenberg, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, in the effort to provide more targeted improvement strategies.

"Since our founding 27 years ago by Dr. Irwin Press and Dr. Rod Ganey, our company has continuously been home to some of the brightest and most accomplished minds in health care analytics," said Patrick T. Ryan, CEO, Press Ganey. "We are proud to add another highly respected individual to our team. David will greatly enhance our ability to deliver actionable insights that help improve the entire patient experience."

Throughout his more than 25-year career, Costello has successfully developed innovative analytics approaches for the health care industry. He has a proven track-record for decreasing health care costs, and simultaneously improving clinical quality outcomes and generating positive brand affinity. Most recently, Costello was building patient segmentation models for care management, carriers, Accountable Care Organizations, and other health care sectors.

"It's an honor to join Press Ganey at a dynamic time when analytics plays such a critical role in health care reform," said Costello. "Because of Press Ganey's history, we are uniquely positioned to deliver better, more sophisticated, and more targeted insights that will substantially improve organizations. We recognize the critical importance of understanding both entire patient populations and the entire experience for each individual patient. Being able to provide actionable insights at both levels will truly be a difference-maker for our clients."

Prior to Press Ganey, Costello served as Executive Vice President and General Manager for SCIOinspire, a health analytics company focused on helping clients translate big data in to actionable applications. Previously, Costello was Senior Vice President of Consumer Segmentation and Engagement Strategies at Health Dialog. While at Health Dialog, he created and implemented clinical, analytic and segmentation products aimed at decreasing medical costs and improving clinical quality among its 20 million members.

Costello received his Ph.D. and master's degree in sociology from the University of Delaware.

About Press Ganey Associates, Inc.

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Press Ganey Hires Industry Veteran as Chief Analytics Officer