FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital recently announced that it has been named as a 2012 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient, and a 2012 Outstanding Patient Experience Award recipient.
Throughout the U.S., 263 hospitals received the safety excellence award, 332 received the patient experience award but only 47 hospitals received both.
“FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital and FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital are two of only 47 hospitals in the nation to receive the recognition for excellence in patient safety and patient experience,” said John Jackson, president of Richmond Memorial Hospital. “It is quite an achievement for the FirstHealth system to be among this short list of hospitals across the country. Our physicians, nurses, support staff and volunteers are dedicated to working together every day to provide a safe and exceptional experience for our patients, and we are proud to be able to provide that level of service to our local community.”
HealthGrades, a leading provider of comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals, analyses and reports on safety and satisfaction ratings. HealthGrades hospital ratings are independently created, and no hospital can opt in or out of being rated. No hospital pays to be rated.
The ratings are used on the HealthGrades websites as a means for patients to research, select and connect with physicians and hospitals. HealthGrades sites are used by more than 200 million consumers.
It has been reported that hospitals with the highest patient ratings in physician and nursing communications on average have fewer safety events.
“We have reached a point where Americans must acknowledge the connection between communicating with their healthcare provider and their own safety and satisfaction as patients,” said Kristin Reed, MPH, HealthGrades vice president of clinical quality programs. “Our research revealed some shocking disconnects. For example, catheter-related bloodstream infections occurred about 56 percent more frequently in hospitals with poor nursing or physician communication. Encounters with the healthcare system can by complex and intimidating. Our goal is to empower patients to ask their providers questions, and to help patients feel more comfortable by providing information that will help them achieve their best health.”
To identify best performing hospitals in patient safety, which represent the top five percent of all U.S. hospitals and this year’s HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients, HealthGrades analyzed approximately 40 million Medicare hospitalizations in 5,000 hospitals from 2008 to 2010.
To identify the outstanding patient award recipients, HealthGrades analyzed hospital survey data obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Recipients of this award performed in the top 10 percent in the nation for patient satisfaction.
HealthGrades reported that patients at hospitals receiving the HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award were 48 percent less likely to experience a patient safety event, compared to those at the bottom five percent.
Other North Carolina Hospitals to receive safety or patient experience awards were: North Carolina Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte; Carolinas Medical Center - Northeast in Concord; Firsthealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst; Iredell Memorial Hospital in Statesville; Margaret R. Pardee Memorial Hospital in Hendersonville; Mission Hospitals in Asheville; New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, including Cape Fear Hospital in Wilmington; Presbyterian Hospital - Huntersville in Huntersville; Rex Hospital in Raleigh; Rowan Regional Medical Center in Salisbury; Stanly Regional Medical Center in Albemarle.
— Staff Writer Kelli Easterling can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 18, or by email at keasterling@heartlandpublications.com.
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