Galesburg, IL (May 21, 2019)-For the second time this month, OSF HealthCare St. Mary Medical Center has received excellence in patient safety. The latest acknowledgement comes from Healthgrades, the leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals which has given OSF St. Mary its 2019 Patient Safety Excellence and Outstanding Patient Experience Award.
Earlier this month national watchdog organization, The Leapfrog Group, named OSF St. Mary among the top tier acute care hospitals in the country in awarding an “A” for patient safety.
The annual Healthgrades awards recognize hospitals around the country that make patient safety a top priority and provide an outstanding patient experience.
Healthgrades 2019 Patient Safety Excellence Award™
In 2019, 460 hospitals across the nation achieved the Healthgrades Patient Safety Award, placing them among the top 10% of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data. On average, 127,667 patient safety events could have been avoided if all hospitals performed similarly to award recipients in each of the 14 patient safety indicators evaluated by Healthgrades.
During the study period (2015-2017), the hospitals demonstrated excellent performance in safety for Medicare patients as measured by objective outcomes for 14 patient safety indicators defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
“We are very excited to be recognized by Healthgrades for our patient safety and the excellent experience we provide,” said OSF St. Mary President Jennifer Junis. “We have a very dedicated staff that ensures our patients have the safest care and we continue to work to meet each patient’s expectations for quality care and exceptional service.”
Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average compared to patients at non-recipient hospitals:
- 55.9% less likely to experience an accidental cut, puncture, perforation or hemorrhage during medical care.
- 50.9% less likely to experience a collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest.
- 64.4% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired at the hospital.
- 57% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital.
“Consumers are becoming more involved in their own health care and are spending more time researching and selecting the right provider and hospital for their specific needs,” said Chief Medical Officer Brad Bowman, MD of Healthgrades.
“The Patient Safety Excellence Award & Outstanding Patient Experience Award highlights the hospitals that are making patient safety and experience a priority and will help patients feel confident to make more informed decisions about their health care.”
Healthgrades 2019 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™
In 2019, 434 hospitals, including OSF St. Mary, received the Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award, representing the top 15% of hospitals in the nation for patient experience. As part of the analysis, Healthgrades evaluated 3,449 hospitals that submitted at least 100 patient experience surveys to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), covering admissions in 2017 to identify hospital performance in this area.
The complete list of the award recipients and an explanation of methodology is available here.