Derry, NH – In the midst of national Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 13-19), Parkland Medical Center has been named a top achiever in Healthgrades 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award™. The distinction places Parkland Medical Center in the top five percent of nearly 4,500 hospitals assessed nationwide for patient safety by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians, and health systems.
The Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ evaluates the safety and quality of care at a hospital by measuring the rate at which serious, potentially preventable complications and adverse events occurred in the hospital.
During the study period (2018 through 2020), 170,231 potentially preventable patient safety events occurred among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals.* Healthgrades found that just four patient safety indicators accounted for 74% of all patient safety events: hip fracture due to an in-hospital fall, collapsed lung resulting from a procedure/surgery, pressure or bed sores acquired in-hospital, and catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in-hospital. Healthgrades also found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ were, on average:
- 55.8% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
- 52.6% less likely to experience a collapsed lung resulting from a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
- 66.2% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
- 65.8% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
If all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to the Healthgrades Patient Safety Award Recipients, on average, 100,189 patient safety events could have been avoided.*
“Patient safety and providing a quality healthcare experience for all of our patients and their families is our top priority,” said John Skevington, CEO of Parkland Medical Center. “Healthgrades’ recognition exemplifies that commitment to patient safety and demonstrates that our hospital is among the nation’s top hospitals for patient safety. Parkland and our staff members who work here are an amazing asset for the communities we serve.”
“Through our 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Awards, we seek to recognize hospitals that excel in providing top-quality care for their patients while preventing serious injuries during hospital stays,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and head of Data Science, Healthgrades. “We are proud to name Parkland Medical Center as 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient and look forward to their continued efforts to make patient safety a priority.”
*Statistics are calculated from Healthgrades Patient Safety Ratings and Excellence Award™ methodology which is based primarily on AHRQ technical specifications (Version 2021.0.1) for MedPAR data years 2018 through 2020 and represent 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only.
Consumers can visit Healthgrades.com for more information on how Healthgrades measures hospital quality and access the complete methodology here.