Lower Bucks Hospital Receives 2018 Patient Safety Excellence Award

Lower Bucks Hospital announced today that it is a recipient of the Healthgrades 2018 Patient Safety Excellence Award™, a designation that recognizes superior performance of hospitals that have prevented the occurrence of serious, potentially avoidable complications for patients during hospital stays.

Lower Bucks is a member of Prime Healthcare, which has more Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients for three consecutive years (2016-2018) than any other health system in the country.

“We applaud the hospitals who have received the Healthgrades 2018 Patient Safety Excellence Award,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. “Their dedication and commitment to providing safe care creates tangible results for patients.”

The distinction places Lower Bucks among the top 10 percent of all 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.

“The physicians, employees, and volunteers, are so proud to receive this award, and grateful to serve all members of the community with high quality care,” said Lower Bucks CEO Kelly Lorah. “Everyone deserves the right to safe patient care. Lower Bucks Hospital is here for you as your partner in healthcare.”

During the 2014 to 2016 study period, Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:

• 55.6 percent less likely to experience an accidental cut, puncture, perforation or hemorrhage during medical care, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals
• 52.4 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
• 62.8 percent less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals
• 54.3 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals

During the study period (2014 to 2016), Healthgrades 2018 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).
If all hospitals achieved the average performance of award recipients for each of the 13 Patient Safety Indicators evaluated, during the 2014 to 2016 study period, 126,342 patient safety events could have been avoided.

At Lower Bucks, patient safety is a top priority. Every day, members of the Lower Bucks Safety Huddle meet to review patient safety issues as resolve them immediately as a team. Members of the hospital leadership, including the CEO, routinely round on patient floors where they assess all aspects of a patient stay, including their medical care, how well their pain is managed, and their satisfaction with nutrition and food services, environment, housekeeping and facilities.

View Healthgrades hospital quality methodologies.

Access the recently released Patient Sentiment Report from Healthgrades and MGMA, which analyzed nearly 7 million online patient reviews and reveals what patients say about their physicians.

About Lower Bucks Hospital
Located in historic Bristol, PA, Lower Bucks Hospital is renowned for its cardiology expertise and ground-breaking heart care, surgery including orthopaedics, sports medicine, neurosurgery and plastic surgery. From diagnostic radiology to daily rehabilitation, we're here as your community hospital with staff and physicians saving lives, every day.