St. Mary Receives Healthgrades 2016 Patient Safety Excellence Award

Dignity Health – St. Mary 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 St. Mary among the top 10% of hospitals in the nation for its excellent performance as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.

On average, 270,457 patient safety events could have been avoided if all hospitals, as a group from 2012 to 2014, performed similarly to hospitals performing better than expected on each of 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:

• 40.2% less likely to experience an accidental puncture or laceration during a procedure, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 44.2% 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 blood stream infections, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 50.4% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.[1]

According to Vice President, Chief Nurse Executive, Jodi Hein, “This recognition highlights Dignity Health - St. Mary Medical Center’s exceptional care and focus on quality and patient safety. We are very proud of our employees, medical staff, leadership team and Community Board for their incredible support and ongoing commitment to compassionate and safety-focused care. Patient safety is our top priority.”

“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 Officer, Healthgrades. “We applaud these hospitals for their performance and for their organizational commitment to delivering high-quality care.”

During the study period (2012-2014), 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). 

St. Mary Medical Center staff and physicians have adopted many evidence based practices, which contributed to this outstanding accolade. Our caregivers and providers are passionate about following the latest research based guidelines in all of our clinical practice and service lines.  We review our outcomes diligently to learn where we can improve and then develop and implement action plans that are monitored closely for effectiveness.

See more information about Healthgrades or download a full copy of the report or to receive information about hospital and physician quality.

About Dignity Health - St. Mary Medical Center

Founded in 1923 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Dignity Health - St. Mary Medical Center is a highly-regarded 389-bed, acute care, nonprofit hospital that offers a full range of inpatient, outpatient and related health and wellness services to the greater Long Beach area.  St. Mary is committed to providing a unique balance of high-quality, compassionate care that brings both healing and humanity to the body, mind and spirit of our patients.  We deliver care to the sick while providing direct services to the underserved and advocate on their behalf.