News

April 20, 2017

Healthgrades recognizes Saint Anne’s Hospital for achievements in patient safety and patient experience

Fall River, MA – Saint Anne’s Hospital has announced that it has been recognized for two distinctions in quality excellence from Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.

Saint Anne’s Hospital is one of only 95 hospitals in the nation, and one of only two hospitals in Massachusetts, to achieve both the Healthgrades® 2017 Patient Safety Excellence Awardand the Healthgrades® 2017 Outstanding Patient Experience Award. This places Saint Anne’s Hospital within the 3% of 2,392 eligible hospitals in the nation to receive both awards.

In addition, Saint Anne’s is:

  • The only Healthgrades® Outstanding Patient Experience AwardTM recipient in Bristol County in 2017
  • The only Hospital in Bristol County to be recognized among the top 5% of hospitals in the nation for patient safety in 2017 by Healthgrades®

“Our Saint Anne’s team prides itself on providing high-quality, personalized care for our patients,” said Michael Bushell, president of Saint Anne’s Hospital. “The combination of these awards from Healthgrades validates the continuous effort by our physicians and staff to do the best they can for our patients by safeguarding them from serious, potentially preventable complications, as well as providing a positive experience for patients during their hospital stays. Together, the recognitions assure our patients that they can be confident in the safety and quality of care they receive, as well expecting an overall superior experience.”

“We applaud recipients for their commitment to delivering high-quality care, while reducing patient safety events and providing a safe and positive experience for patients during their hospital stay,” said Brad Bowman, Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades.

Understanding Patient Safety Excellence

On average, 134,568 patient safety events could have been avoided if all hospitals, as a group from 2013 to 2015, performed similarly to hospitals performing better than expected on each of 13 patient safety indicators evaluated by Healthgrades.

SAH Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence 2017

In addition, during this study period, patients treated in hospitals receiving Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM were, on average:

  • 40.0 percent less likely to experience an accidental puncture or laceration during a procedure than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
  • 44.6 percent 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 percent less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
  • 50.2 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.[1]

During the study period (2013-2015), Healthgrades 2017 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals demonstrated excellent performance in safety provided 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).

Understanding Outstanding Patient Experience

In addition to being recognized as one of Healthgrades 2017 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients, Saint Anne’s Hospital also out-performed peer hospitals in patient experience.

SAH Healthgrades Patient Experience Award 2017

Healthgrades evaluated performance by applying a scoring methodology to 10 patient experience measures, using data collected from a 32-question patient experience survey of the hospital’s own patients. The survey questions focus on patients’ perspectives of their care in the hospital.  The topics of these questions ranged from cleanliness and noise levels in patient rooms to factors such as pain management and responsiveness to patients’ needs. The measures also include whether a patient would recommend the hospital to friends or family.

For more information about Healthgrades, to download a full copy of the report, or to receive information about hospital and physician quality, visit Healthgrades.com/Quality.

About Saint Anne’s Hospital

Founded by the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation in 1906, Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Massachusetts, is a full-service, acute care Catholic hospital with 185 beds and satellite locations in Attleboro, Swansea, Dartmouth, New Bedford, and Stoughton, Massachusetts. A member of Steward Health Care, Saint Anne’s provides nationally recognized patient- and family-centered inpatient care (including all private rooms) and outpatient clinical services to patients from surrounding Massachusetts and Rhode Island communities. In addition to comprehensive diagnostic, medical, surgical, and emergency services, Saint Anne’s key services include Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center in Fall River and Dartmouth; the Joint Commission-certified Center for Orthopedic Excellence; ambulatory surgery centers in Attleboro and Dartmouth; the Center for Pain Management in Swansea and Dartmouth; and geriatric psychiatry services at locations in Fall River and Stoughton.

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[1] Statistics are based on Healthgrades Patient Safety Ratings and Excellence Award methodology, which includes application of AHRQ QI software to MedPAR data for years 2013 through 2015, and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only.