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Adventist Health Hanford achieves 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award

News, Awards & Recognition

Adventist Health Hanford has been recognized as a Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award TM recipient. This distinction places the hospital among the top 10% of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers.

From 2017 through 2019, there were 190,273 potentially preventable patient safety events among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals.* And, if all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to hospitals performing better than expected on each of 13 Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) evaluated by Healthgrades, on average, 106,052 patient safety events could have been avoided.*

During this time frame, four patient safety indicators accounted for 72% of all patient safety events (collapsed lung, hip fracture due to an in-hospital fall, pressure or bed sores and catheter-related bloodstream infections). Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average*:

  • 50.3% 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.*
  • 60.3% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.*
  • 66.5% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.*
  • 65.4% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non- recipient hospitals.*

“Patient safety is our highest priority,” says Dr. Gurvinder Kaur, medical officer for Adventist Health in the Central Valley. “It is a true honor to receive this recognition from Healthgrades because it validates our expert teams’ commitment to quality. We strive to achieve the highest level of patient safety by constantly improving processes for improved patient outcomes.”

Adventist Health Hanford has undertaken rigorous staff training processes for central line care and monitoring to prevent any infections. An initiative also is in place to monitor infection prevention processes through multi-disciplinary care rounds which focus on safety checklists for patients at all levels of acute care delivery.

The hospital was also recognized by Healthgrades for the following clinical achievements:

  • 5-star recipient for gallbladder removal surgery for 2 years in a row (2021-2022)
  • 5-star recipient for treatment of respiratory failure in 2022
  • 5-star recipient for treatment of heart attack 4 years in a row (2018-2021)

*During the study period (2017 through 2019), Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals demonstrated excellent performance in patient safety within 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 is included in the evaluation - Foreign Objects Left in Body During a Surgery or Procedure – which is a “never” event and does not have an expected rate.

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 2020.0.1) to MedPAR data for years 2017 through 2019 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only.

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Adventist Health is a faith-based, nonprofit integrated health system serving more than 80 communities on the West Coast and Hawaii as well as others across the U.S. through its Blue Zones company, a pioneer in taking a systemic and environmental approach to improving the health of entire cities and communities. Through this work, Adventist Health is leading a 21st century well-being transformation movement. Founded on Seventh-day Adventist heritage and values, Adventist Health provides care in hospitals, clinics, its innovative Adventist Health Hospital@Home program that provides virtual in-patient care at home, home care agencies, hospice agencies and joint-venture retirement centers in both rural and urban communities. Our compassionate and talented team of 37,000 includes associates, medical staff physicians, allied health professionals and volunteers driven in pursuit of one mission: living God's love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope. Together, we are transforming the American healthcare experience with an innovative, yet timeless, whole-person focus on physical, mental, spiritual and social healing to support community well-being.