HCA/HealthONE’s North Suburban Medical Center Achieves Healthgrades 2020 Patient Safety Excellence Award(TM)

Thornton, CO, June 16, 2020 --(PR.com)-- North Suburban Medical Center announced today that it is a recipient of the Healthgrades 2020 Patient Safety Excellence Award(TM). This distinction places North Suburban Medical Center among the top 10% of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems.

During the study period (2016 through 2018), Healthgrades 2020 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals demonstrated excellent performance in safeguarding patients in 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 included in the evaluation is Foreign Objects Left in Body During a Surgery or Procedure which is a “never” event and does not have an expected rate.

Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average*:

48.3% 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.

54.4% less likely to experience a hip fracture following surgery, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.

66.8% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.

63% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital, than patients treated at non- recipient hospitals.

In addition, if all hospitals in the country performed at the level of award recipients for each of the 13 patient safety indicators, 110,864 patient safety events could have been avoided.*

“We are honored to be in the top 10% of hospitals in our nation for patient safety,” said Daphne David, Chief Executive Officer at North Suburban Medical Center. “We have an exceptional team of colleagues who care for our patients and make safety a priority every day. I am thrilled to know that their efforts are being recognized with this award.”

“Consumers might not know that information around patient safety is readily available and should be considered when researching healthcare options,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. “We commend the recipients of the 2020 Patient Safety Excellence Award for their dedication to providing excellent care for their patients.”

Earlier this year, North Suburban Medical Center also attained a 5-Star Healthgrades rating for vaginal deliveries, sepsis care, bowel obstruction and appendectomy care.

View Healthgrades hospital quality methodologies.

*Statistics are calculated from Healthgrades Patient Safety Ratings and Excellence Award methodology which is based primarily on AHRQ technical specifications (Version 2019.0.1) to MedPAR data for years 2016 through 2018 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only.

About North Suburban Medical Center
North Suburban Medical Center is a 157 bed, level II state designated trauma facility with a level II NICU, cardiac catheterization services, and primary stroke and sepsis certification by The Joint Commission. North Suburban strives to meet and exceed the needs of the surrounding communities by also providing two free standing emergency departments and one ambulatory surgery center. North Suburban has more than 850 employees and 800 providers on medical staff and excellent quality outcomes. North Suburban is one of just two hospitals in the state of Colorado to be named a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures each of the last five years. North Suburban has been honored by the Women’s Choice Awards as one of America’s Best ERs, one of America’s Best Hospitals for Patient Safety, has been awarded high ratings from The Leapfrog Group in recent years, and has received several five-star awards from Healthgrades. North Suburban is proud to be a part of the HealthONE system of hospitals that earned the ranking as the #7 corporate philanthropist in the metro area and was the only hospital system ranked in the top 10. HealthONE contributed more than $1.5 million in 2018 and supports over 150 organizations through cash and in-kind donations.