DERRY, NH – In the midst of national Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 12-19), Parkland Medical Center has been named a top achiever in Healthgrades 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award™. This is the fifth consecutive year that Parkland has earned this recognition. Parkland Medical Center is the only hospital in New Hampshire to achieve this designation for five consecutive years and this distinction places the hospital in the top 5 percent of all short-term acute care hospitals as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers.
“Receiving this top national recognition for patient safety for five consecutive years reflects our organization’s unwavering commitment to providing safe, high-quality care, and an excellent experience for our patients,” said John Skevington, chief executive officer of Parkland Medical Center. “Patient safety is our top priority and this achievement is a testament to our outstanding staff who each day provide seamless collaboration and expertise to ensure our patients receive the highest level of care.”
During the 2018-2021 study period, 164,592 potentially preventable patient safety events occurred among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals.* Healthgrades found that just four patient safety indicators accounted for 74 percent 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 the hospital, and catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in-hospital. Healthgrades’ analysis also revealed that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:
- 61.4 percent less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
- 52.7 percent 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*
- 66.1 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
- 67.3 percent less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at nonrecipient hospitals*
“Through our 2023 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 a 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient and look forward to their continued efforts to make patient safety a top priority.”
Consumers can visit healthgrades.com for more information on how Healthgrades measures hospital quality and access the complete methodology.
*Statistics are calculated from Healthgrades Patient Safety Ratings and Excellence Award methodology which is based primarily on AHRQ technical specifications (Version 2022.0.1) for MedPAR data years 2019 through 2021 and represent 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only.