FRANKFORT, KY — Frankfort Regional Medical Center (FRMC) has been named as a top achiever in Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award™. The distinction places FRMC in the top 10% of nearly 4,500 hospitals assessed nationwide for patient safety by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians, and health systems.
The Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ evaluates the safety and quality of care at a hospital by measuring the rate at which serious, potentially preventable complications and adverse events occurred in the hospital.
From 2017 through 2019, there were 190,273 potentially preventable patient safety events among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals.* And, if all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to hospitals performing better than expected on each of 13 Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) evaluated by Healthgrades, on average, 106,052 patient safety events could have been avoided.*
During this time frame, four patient safety indicators accounted for 72% of all patient safety events (collapsed lung, hip fracture due to an in-hospital fall, pressure or bed sores and catheter-related bloodstream infections). Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average*:
- 50.3% 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.*
- 60.3% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.*
- 66.5% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.*
- 65.4% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non- recipient hospitals.*
“Our hospital remains committed to patient safety and providing a quality healthcare experience for all of our patients and their families,” said Reed Hammond, chief executive officer of Frankfort Regional Medical Center. “This award recognizes that commitment to patient safety and speaks to our team‘s dedication to adhering to the highest quality standards in patient care.”
“The importance of hospital quality is now at the forefront of consumer‘s minds, especially as we continue to navigate COVID-19. We congratulate the recipients of the Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award for their ongoing commitment to upholding the highest quality standards for their patients and communities,” said Brad Bowman, MD, chief medical officer, Healthgrades.
During the study period (2017 through 2019), Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals demonstrated excellent performance in patient safety within the Medicare population, as measured by objective outcomes — risk-adjusted patient safety indicator (PSI) rates — for 13 PSIs defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). A 14th PSI is included in the evaluation — Foreign Objects Left in Body During a Surgery or Procedure — which is a “never” event and does not have an expected rate.