Press Releases
PATIENT SAFETY AND PATIENT EXPERIENCE EXCELLENCE AWARDS
10/09/2009
Doylestown Hospital is One of Only 53 Hospitals Nationwide
to Receive Both Patient Experience and Patient Safety Recognitions.

Doylestown Hospital was one of only 53 hospitals nationwide identified in two studies recently released by HealthGrades (tm), the nation's leading independent healthcare ratings company.

From the sixth annual HealthGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study, Doylestown Hospital was named one of the recipients of the 2009 HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award(tm). The top five percent of all hospitals in the U.S. were recognized with this award in this study for having among the lowest incidence rates of patient safety events.

In addition, Doylestown Hospital was one of the recipients of the 2009/2010 Outstanding Patient Experience Award(tm) named in HealthGrades' second annual report. This award is reflective of patients rating Doylestown Hospital among the top 10% nationwide for satisfaction, including immediate staff responsiveness, quiet rooms, and well-controlled pain.

"Both the Patient Safety and Patient Experience awards confirm our commitment to provide the highest quality care in a setting that respects patients' privacy and comfort," said Doylestown Hospital President Richard Reif. "What drives us as an organization is not just working to continually improve the quality of care, but to improve the ways in which we deliver that care to make sure our patients have confidence in what we do. We listen to our patients, and it shows."

To determine these results, HealthGrades utilized two methodologies and data sources.

For the Patient Experience award, HealthGrades analyzed results of patients' surveys gathered under an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services covering the year ending June 2008. The national, standardized survey, called the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems or HCAHPS, assesses patients' perspectives of the hospital care they received, including physician and nurse communication, cleanliness, noise levels, medication information and post-discharge care instructions. For hospitals receiving the 2009/2010 HealthGrades award, 57% more patients gave that hospital a 9 or 10 on a 10 point scale for overall patient satisfaction, compared with the worst-performing hospitals.

"We are incredibly proud that our patients and HealthGrades have rated us among the best in the country for patient experience," said Eleanor Wilson, VP of Patient Services. "Our nurses, doctors and administration work hard every day to ensure our patients have outstanding care during their stay, from clear communication to vigilant pain management to a quiet environment in which to rest. It's a core part of what we do, and we're grateful for this recognition."

Doylestown Hospital has multiple initiatives in place to maximize patient safety and satisfaction. They include:

* Culture of Quiet, aimed at reducing noise on patient care floors, especially during overnight hours.

* Infection Prevention Strategies that have just about cut in half the already low rate of Hospital Acquired Infections since 2006, when current infection prevention protocols were put into place. This includes a projected 80% reduction in Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections and a projected decrease of more than 55% in C. diff infections.

* A new policy that discourages the use of sleep medications to reduce adverse effects such as risk of risk of falling, cognitive impairment, hypotension and daytime fatigue.

* Accreditation as a Chest Pain Center from the Society of Chest Pain Centers, meaning Doylestown Hospital is best equipped to treat patients with acute coronary syndromes and heart failure.

The Patient Safety study applied methodology developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to identify the incident rates of 15 patient safety indicators among Medicare patients at virtually all of the nation's nearly 5,000 nonfederal hospitals during 2005 through 2007. If all hospitals performed at the level of Patient Safety Excellence Award(tm) hospitals, approximately 211,697 patient safety events and 22,771 Medicare deaths could have been avoided while saving the U.S. approximately $2.0 billion during the timeframe studied.

HealthGrades' individual hospital ratings can be viewed for free at HealthGrades.com.