Jersey Shore University Medical Center Achieves Healthgrades 2020 Patient Safety Excellence Award

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Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center announced it is a recipient of the Healthgrades 2020 Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM. This distinction places the academic medical center among the top 5 percent 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.

“Our patients and their safety is our primary concern and at the center of all we do. This award is a welcome validation of our teams’ extraordinary efforts,” said Vito Buccellato, MPA, LNHA, chief hospital executive, Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average*:
• 48.3 percent 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 percent less likely to experience a hip fracture following surgery, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 66.8 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 63 percent 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.


“Considering all the processes and measures our team members, nurses, and physicians take to safeguard patients at our academic medical center, I’m extremely pleased to see them recognized with this award and join such exclusive company,” said Kenneth N. Sable, M.D., MBA, FACEP, Hackensack Meridian Health regional president, southern market.

Healthgrades hospital quality methodologies can be viewed on their web site Healthgrades.com. “Consumers might not know that information around patient safety is readily available and should be considered when researching healthcare options,” said Brad Bowman, M.D., 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.”

*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.

(PHOTO CAPTION) – From left, is Vito Buccellato, MPA, LNHA, chief hospital executive, Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC); Kim L. Carpenter M.D., FAAFP, CTHQS, chief medical officer, JSUMC; Kenneth N. Sable, M.D., MBA, FACEP, Hackensack Meridian Health regional president, southern market, and Ellen Angelo, DNP, MSN, R.N., CCRN, chief nursing officer, JSUMC.

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