Norwood Hospital announced today that it is a recipient of the Healthgrades 2019 Patient Safety Excellence Award^™. This distinction places Norwood Hospital among the top 5% of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals. This is the third year in a row that Norwood Hospital has been recognized with this distinction.

During the study period (2015 to 2017), Healthgrades 2019 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 14 patient safety indicators defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, as compared to patients at non-recipients hospitals, on average*:

• 55.9% less likely to experience an accidental cut, puncture, perforation or hemorrhage during medical care.
• 50.9% less likely to experience a collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest.
• 64.4% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital.
• 57% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital.

In addition, if all hospitals in the country performed at the level of award recipients for each of the 14 Patient Safety Indicators, 127,667 patient safety events could have been avoided.*

“Norwood Hospital staff are focused on enhancing patient experience and outcomes. We are proud of this earned accomplishment as it represents an overall safer and better experience for patients,” said Salvatore Perla, DrPH, president, Norwood Hospital. “Our hospital has a 100-year history in Norwood and the surrounding region, and we are committed to delivering care that is among the best in the nation. This recognition is validation of why our patients choose Norwood Hospital.”

“We are proud to recognize the recipients of the 2019 Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award, which shines a spotlight on the hospitals that are preventing the occurrence of serious, potentially avoidable complications, for patients during their hospital stay,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. “We applaud these hospitals and their commitment to providing the best possible care for every patient.”

In addition to earning this distinction, Norwood Hospital also has earned:

• Recipient of the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for 3 Years in a Row (2017-2019)
• Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety for 3 Years in a Row (2017-2019)
• Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Patient Safety for 3 Years in a Row (2017-2019)

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 5e and 2018) to MedPAR data for years 2015 through 2017 and represent 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only. 

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