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Home 9 News 9 Prime Healthcare Hospitals Recognized for Patient Safety Excellence

Prime has more Patient Safety Excellence Awards for four consecutive years than any other health system in the nation

Prime Healthcare, with 34 hospitals awarded the Healthgrades 2019 Patient Safety Excellence Award for excellence in clinical care, has more Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients for four consecutive years (2016-2019) than any other health system in the country.

“We commend Prime Healthcare for their commitment to creating a robust culture of safety, and standing true to their mission of saving hospitals, saving jobs and saving lives,” said Rob Draughon, CEO, Healthgrades.

The designation places 26 Prime Healthcare hospitals in the top 5% in the nation for exceptional performance, with the remaining eight in the top 10%, according to Healthgrades, the leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals.

“Prime Healthcare has made patient safety an integral part of the culture at every one of our hospitals, and we are grateful to our physicians, nurses, and staff for achieving this recognition,” said Sunny Bhatia, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Prime Healthcare. “We are extremely proud that more than 80 percent of our eligible hospitals have been recognized nationally for advancing patient safety through leadership, technology, staff training, and patient education. This attention to quality patient care is what all communities deserve.”

“We applaud these hospitals and their commitment to providing the best possible care for every patient,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. “We are proud to recognize the recipients of the 2019 Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award, which shines a spotlight on the hospitals that are preventing the occurrence of serious, potentially avoidable complications for patients during their hospital stay.”

In addition, Prime Healthcare has more Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients in California than any other health system. The 13 hospitals to receive the recognition in the state are: Huntington Beach Hospital, Paradise Valley Hospital, Encino Hospital Medical Center, Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center, West Anaheim Medical Center, La Palma Intercommunity Hospital, Chino Valley Medical Center, San Dimas Community Hospital, Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Sherman Oaks Hospital, Alvarado Hospital Medical Center, Montclair Hospital Medical Center, and Shasta Regional Medical Center.

The remaining award-winning hospitals are: Riverview Regional Medical Center (AL), Lehigh Regional Medical Center (FL), Monroe Hospital (IN), Providence Medical Center (KS), Lake Huron Medical Center and Garden City Hospital (MI), St. Joseph Medical Center and St. Mary’s Medical Center (MO), Saint Michael’s Medical Center and Saint Clare’s Denville Hospital (NJ), North Vista Hospital and Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center (NV), East Liverpool City Hospital (OH), Lower Bucks Hospital, Suburban Community Hospital and Roxborough Memorial Hospital (PA), Landmark Medical Center (RI), Dallas Medical Center, Dallas Regional Medical Center, Mission Regional Medical Center, and Knapp Medical Center (TX).

During the study period (2015 to 2017), Healthgrades 2019 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals demonstrated superior safety performance for patients in the Medicare population, as measured by objective outcomes (risk-adjusted patient safety indicator rates), using 14 patient safety indicators defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, as compared to patients at non-recipient hospitals, on average:

  • 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 in the hospital.
  • 57% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital.

In addition, if all hospitals in the country performed at the level of award recipients for each of the 14 Patient Safety Indicators, 127,667 patient safety events could have been avoided.

Prime Healthcare consistently earns top marks for its clinical quality. Prime Healthcare’s hospitals received more than 200 awards in 2019 from Healthgrades. Also, this spring, 18 Prime Hospitals earned the highest marks for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group. Prime Healthcare and its hospitals have been recognized among the “100 Top Hospitals” in the nation 47 times by IBM Watson Health.​