West Jefferson Medical Center Achieves Healthgrades 2020 Patient Safety Excellence Award

Marrero, LA (June 16, 2020) – West Jefferson Medical Center announced today that it is a recipient of the Healthgrades 2020 Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM. This distinction places West Jefferson 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.*

“This prestigious distinction from Healthgrades reflects our deeply-rooted commitment to keeping our patients and our community safe,” said Rob Calhoun, Chief Executive Officer at West Jefferson Medical Center. “As demonstrated by the challenging times we’ve faced over the past several months, our physicians and staff continue to show great diligence in our hospital’s commitment to achieve high-quality patient outcomes.”

“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.”

“West Jefferson Medical Center makes patient safety and well-being a top priority, as previously acknowledged by Healthgrades as an America’s 250 Best Hospitals Award winner (2019) and a Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient in 2017 and 2018,” said Darlene Gondrella, VP of Quality, West Jefferson Medical Center. “West Jefferson has also earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Comprehensive Stroke Centers. These achievements represent the commitment our physicians, nurses and staff have to the patients and families we serve. They are a testament to our hard work and dedication in keeping our patients safe during their hospital stay.”

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.