Hospital receives patient safety award.

Hospital receives patient safety award. 

LUDINGTON — Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital was recently awarded the Healthgrades  2017 Patient Safety Excellence Award, a designation that recognizes superior performance in hospitals that have prevented the occurrence of  serious, potentially avoidable complications for patients during hospital stays.

The distinction places Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital among the top 10% of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data for its excellent performance as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.  Spectrum Ludington Hospital is among the top 10% in the nation for patient safety for a second consecutive year (2016-2017)

During the 2013-2015 study period, Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:

• 40.0% less likely to experience an accidental puncture or laceration during a procedure, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 44.6% 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% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 50.2% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.

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.

“Two of our primary focus areas are patient safety and patient experience,” said Randall L. Kelley, hospital president. “The fact that our hospital has achieved this recognition for the second straight year is highly significant. It demonstrates that our medical and clinical staffs are not only successfully implementing our safety protocols, but also consistently applying them over time.”

Helen Johnson, chief nursing officer, added, “This continued evidence of success in our patient safety practices is a testament to the sense of ownership for each patient outcome exhibited by our medical staff, nurses and other staff members.”

“Hospitals who have been recognized as Healthgrades 2017 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients have minimized patient safety events and also 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.”

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).

For more information about Healthgrades or to download a full copy of the report, or to receive information about hospital and physician quality, visit: www.Healthgrades.com/quality today.