Sampson Regional Medical Center announced today that it has achieved the Healthgrades 2016 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 Sampson Regional Medical Center among the top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation for its excellent performance as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. More specifically, Sampson Regional is the only hospital in “Coastal Plain” region (a 22 county area) of North Carolina to achieve this distinction in 2016.
On average, 270,457 patient safety events could have been avoided if all hospitals, as a group from 2012-2014, performed similarly to hospitals performing better than expected on each of the 13 patient safety indicators evaluated by Healthgrades.
In addition, during this study period, patients treated in hospitals receiving Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:
• 40.42 percent less likely to experience an accidental puncture or laceration during a procedure, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 44.2 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 hospital.
• 54.4 percent less likely to experience catheter-related blood stream infections, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 50.4 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
“We take great pride to be among the twenty recipient hospitals in North Carolina for this distinction. We work hard every day to deliver safe and quality care to our patients, and this award reflects that commitment,” said Dr. Shawn Howerton, chief executive and medical officer for Sampson Regional Medical Center.
Dr. Howerton commended the hospital’s leadership, medical staff, employees, vendors and contractors for their outstanding work.
“This level of quality care is possible because of our providers, leadership, and staff who make continuous improvement a priority. We also appreciate our many other partners, such as contractors and medical supply companies, who impact patient care at Sampson Regional. We value their commitment to compliance with our policies and procedures that keep patients safe in our hospital,” stated Howerton.
“The recipients of the Healthgrades 2016 Patient Safety Excellence Award have not only found ways to reduce patient safety events, but to outperform expectations in prevention of safety incidents,” said Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Office, Healthgrades. “We applaud these hospitals for their performance and for their organizational commitment to delivering high-quality care.”
During the study period (2012-14), Healthgrades 2016 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals performed with excellence in providing safety 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.