Healthgrades Names Hackensack Meridian Health Hospitals as 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ Recipients

Hackensack University Medical Center, Bayshore Medical Center and Ocean University Medical Center recognized by Healthgrades with 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award

Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive health network, today announced that three of its hospitals have been recognized by Healthgrades as  2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipients, more than any New Jersey hospital network. This distinction places Hackensack University Medical Center, Bayshore Medical Center and Ocean University Medical Center among the top 10% of all short-term acute care hospitals as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers.

“At Hackensack Meridian Health, patient safety is our top priority, as well as ensuring we are able to deliver high-quality, compassionate care to the communities we serve,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, chief executive officer of Hackensack Meridian Health. “I am proud of our teams across the network for receiving this well-deserved recognition from Healthgrades as they continue to elevate the standard of care in New Jersey and beyond.”

Healthgrades also named Hackensack University Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Bayshore Medical Center among America’s Best Hospitals 2023, joining an elite group of just 61 hospitals in the nation to rank among the top 5% in both patient safety and overall clinical excellence.

During the 2018-2021 study period, 164,592 potentially preventable patient safety events occurred among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals.* Healthgrades found that just four patient safety indicators accounted for 74% of all patient safety events: hip fracture due to an in-hospital fall, collapsed lung resulting from a procedure/surgery, pressure or bed sores acquired in the hospital, and catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in-hospital. Healthgrades’ analysis also revealed that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:

• 61.4% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 52.7% less likely to experience a collapsed lung resulting from a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 66.1% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 67.3% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at nonrecipient hospitals*

When it comes to choosing healthcare, quality saves lives, which is why Healthgrades is committed to delivering the most scientifically accurate and comprehensive information about doctors and hospitals — with data insights not available anywhere else. To that end, it's important for consumers to know that if all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to the 2023 Patient Safety Award recipients, on average, 95,880 patient safety events could have been avoided.*

“Through our 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Awards, we seek to recognize hospitals that excel in providing top-quality care for their patients while preventing serious injuries during hospital stays,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and head of Data Science, Healthgrades. “We are proud to name Hackensack University Medical Center, Bayshore Medical Center and Ocean University Medical Center as 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients and look forward to their continued efforts to make patient safety a top priority.”

Consumers can visit healthgrades.com for more information on how Healthgrades measures hospital quality and access the complete methodology here.

*Statistics are calculated from Healthgrades Patient Safety Ratings and Excellence Award methodology which is based primarily on AHRQ technical specifications (Version 2022.0.1) for MedPAR data years 2019 through 2021 and represent 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only.

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