February 29, 2006 | More News

Patient Safety Record Among Nation’s Best

HealthGrades, the country’s leading source of healthcare quality information, announced last month that Winchester Medical Center has been awarded the 2006 Distinguished Hospital Award for Patient Safety.

“Safety is at the center of high quality patient care, and this award directly reflects our ongoing commitment to continually monitor and improve our performance. It’s also a tribute to the caliber of our nurses and physicians and the amazing staff that support them,” notes WMC President Jim Woodward. “And the fact that only one hospital in Virginia received this award last year makes our accomplishment that much more significant.”

The Award for Patient Safety is based on outcome information submitted by Medicare and commercial payers for the years 2002 – 2004. WMC’s patient safety performance was then measured against nearly all hospitals in the country in 13 categories, including mortality rates in low mortality DRGs (diagnostic related groups), a low rate of failure to rescue, the incidence of various complications that include skin sores, infections, post-operative hemorrhage or hematoma, post-op respiratory failure, abdominal wound breakdown, pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis, and foreign bodies left in during a procedure.  Only organizations with consistently low rates in these areas over the three-year period qualified for the award. 

“The award criteria are focused on delivering the best care in a safe manner in a safe environment,” offers Cynthia Rawlinson, VH Executive Director of Performance Improvement. Patient safety, Cynthia continues, is an increasingly important aspect in providing quality care and achieving good outcomes, and more and more, much of this information is becoming transparent to the public. “This award is the result of outstanding teamwork and collaboration among all disciplines, and while the award is particularly meaningful to all staff, our quality journey does not end with this recognition,” she stresses.  ‘We are grounded in quality improvement and patient safety as the foundation of all that we do and as our commitment to the community we serve.”