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Adventist Health Selma achieves 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award

News, Awards & Recognition

Hospital in the top 10% in nation for patient safety

Adventist Health Selma has been recognized as a Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM 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 Selma 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

*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.