Providence Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, has received the Healthgrades 2017 Patient Safety Excellence Award, a designation that recognizes superior performance in hospitals that have prevented serious, potentially avoidable complications for patients during hospital stays.
Providence Medical Center is the only hospital in the Kansas City area to be named among the top 5 percent in the nation for patient safety of all acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data as evaluated by Healthgrades, an online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.
Earlier this year, Providence was also recognized by Healthgrades as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for General Surgery for 2017, with over 4500 hospitals evaluated, and also in the top 10 percent in pulmonary care and gastrointestinal care.
“We are very proud to be recognized for the excellent care we give our patients at Providence,” said Karen Orr, chief nursing officer of Providence Medical Center. “This designation is a much-deserved affirmation of our clinicians and their adherence to best practices in patient care.”
During the 2013-2015 study period, Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:
• 40 percent less likely to experience an accidental puncture or laceration during a procedure, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 44.6 percent less likely to experience a collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 54.4 percent less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 50.2 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
“Providence Medical Center’s staff work diligently every day to insure the safe care of our patients and to promote a culture of safety,” said Renee Janssen, director of risk management for Providence Medical Center. “Our Patient Safety Team regularly conducts extensive evaluations of all safety concerns, looking for opportunities to improve.”
The hospital also performs a culture of safety review every year with frequent reinforcement of best practices. Communication at “daily huddles” alert staff to potential concerns and updates.
“Hospitals who have been recognized as Healthgrades 2017 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients have minimized patient safety events and surpassed expectations in preventing safety incidents,” said Dr. Brad Bowman, chief medical officer, Healthgrades. “We applaud these hospitals for their performance and for their organizational commitment to delivering high-quality care.”
On average, 134,568 patient safety events could have been avoided if all hospitals, as a group from 2013 to 2015, performed similarly to hospitals performing better than expected on each of 13 patient safety indicators evaluated by Healthgrades.
During the study period (2013-2015), Healthgrades 2017 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals demonstrated excellent performance in safety provided for patients in the Medicare population, as measured by objective outcomes (risk-adjusted patient safety indicator rates) for 13 patient safety indicators defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).