BMC Named Among Top 10 Hospitals in U.S. for Patient Safety
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Medical Center is a recipient of the Healthgrades 2017 Patient Safety Excellence Award, a designation that recognizes superior performance in hospitals that have prevented the occurrence of serious, potentially avoidable complications for patients during hospital stays.
The distinction places BMC among the top 10 percent of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data for its excellent performance as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.
"Berkshire Medical Center has consistently been rated among the safest hospitals in the nation, and this latest recognition by Healthgrades further validates the confidence that our community can have in knowing they are receiving the highest quality care," said David Phelps, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems.
"We are proud of the commitment to excellence that is shown every day with every patient by our physicians, nurses, technologists, therapists and all of our staff that is reflected in this patient safety honor," said Diane Kelly, a registered nurse and chief operating officer, and Dr. Gray Ellrodt, BMC's chief quality officer. "Teamwork is the key to our success, with all disciplines coming together and being focused on one thing – providing the best and safest patient care."
During the 2013-2015 study period, Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:
- 40 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 because of 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]
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.
"Hospitals who have been recognized as Healthgrades 2017 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients have minimized patient safety events and also surpassed expectations in preventing safety incidents," said Dr. Brad Bowman, chief medical officer of Healthgrades. "We applaud these hospitals for their performance and for their organizational commitment to delivering high-quality care."
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).
For more information about Healthgrades or to download a full copy of the report, or to receive information about hospital and physician quality, visit www.Healthgrades.com/quality.
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