MARRERO, LA – West Jefferson Medical Center (WJMC) will be presented the Healthgrades 2016 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ trophy by Healthgrades during National Hospital Week (May 8-14).
The trophy will be accepted by West Jefferson’s CEO for being among the Top 5% of hospitals nationwide to excel in Patient Safety standards. West Jefferson is the only hospital in the Greater New Orleans area, inclusive of the parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington, to achieve this national recognition. The presentation will take place Thursday, May 12, 2016, at 10:45 a.m., in the hospital’s atrium.
The distinction recognizes West Jefferson Medical Center as one of only 260 hospitals in the United States to achieve this designation by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals, for its excellent performance in preventing the occurrence of serious, potentially avoidable complications for patients during hospital stays.
On average, 270,457 patient safety events could have been avoided if all hospitals, as a group from 2012 from 2014, performed similarly to hospitals performing better than expected on each of 13 patient safety indicators evaluated by Healthgrades.
In addition, during this study period, patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:
• 40.2% less likely to experience an accidental puncture or laceration during a procedure, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 44.2% 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 catheter-related blood stream infections, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 50.4% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
“West Jefferson is honored to receive this recognition,” said Nancy R. Cassagne, CEO of West Jefferson Medical Center. “It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of our physicians, nurses and staff. Our hospital family believes patient safety is strongly associated with high quality care. So it is a priority for our hospital to continuously strive to deliver the best care possible to all of our patients.”
“The recipients of the Healthgrades 2016 Patient Safety Excellence Award have not only found ways to reduce patient safety events, but to outperform expectations in prevention of safety incidents,” said Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Officer, Healthgrades. “We applaud these hospitals for their performance and for their organizational commitment to delivering high-quality care.”
During the study period (2012-2014), Healthgrades 2016 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals performed with excellence in providing safety 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).
Founded in 1956, WJMC is a 435-bed community hospital located in Marrero, LA. As a full service medical center, WJMC offers comprehensive programs for preventive, emergency, acute and rehabilitative care with a medical staff of more than 400 physicians and a complement of 1,700 employees and many volunteers. The medical center enjoys national awards for clinical excellence across many of its subspecialties. WJMC is a proud member of LCMC Health, a Louisiana-based, not-for-profit hospital system serving the healthcare needs of the Gulf Coast region. LCMC Health currently manages award-winning community hospitals including Children’s Hospital, Touro, New Orleans East Hospital, University Medical Center New Orleans and West Jefferson Medical Center.
