Straub Clinic & Hospital today announced that it has been recognized with three national awards for clinical excellence, patient safety and outstanding patient experience from Healthgrades, a leading online resource providing comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. Straub is one of only 13 hospitals, or less than 1 percent of more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide to receive all three Healthgrades awards.
The awards include the 2013 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ and the 2013 Patient Safety Excellence Award™. It was previously announced that Straub is also a recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™, which recognizes delivery of a positive experience for patients during their hospital stay and is a distinction the hospital has received for the fourth year in a row.
“Providing quality care and exceptional service are amongst our top priorities at Straub,” said Art Gladstone, CEO of Straub Clinic & Hospital. “It’s a testament to the dedication and passion of our staff and physicians that we have received this national recognition, and I’m extremely proud of our team for their continuous commitment to the care and safety of our patients.”
Straub is one of 262 hospitals to receive the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™, which places it in the top 5 percent nationally for overall clinical excellence. The award recognizes hospitals that exhibit comprehensive high-quality care across multiple specialties.
While many hospitals have specific areas of expertise and high-quality outcomes in those areas, these hospitals exhibit comprehensive high-quality care based on risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates for common procedures and conditions. From 2009 to 2011, Healthgrades Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence as a group had an overall 30.9 percent lower risk adjusted mortality rate across 18 common inpatient conditions and procedures as compared to other hospitals.
“Today, consumers have unprecedented access to information on hospital performance as it relates to specific conditions and procedures so that they can make more informed decisions about who to see and where to go for care,” said Evan Marks, EVP Informatics and Strategy for Healthgrades. “The Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence enables hospitals to communicate their commitment to providing outstanding patient care and to show their continued efforts to improve clinical outcomes.”
As a recipient of the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™, Straub also ranks in the top 5 percent when it comes to patient safety. The award recognizes excellence in safeguarding patients from serious, potentially preventable complications during their hospital stays.
On average, patients hospitalized at Patient Safety Excellence Award™ Hospitals were 81 percent less likely to experience hip fracture following surgery; 80 percent less likely to experience pressure or bed sores; and 70 percent less likely to experience a catheter-related bloodstream infection.
During the 2013 study period (2009-2011), Patient Safety Excellence Award hospitals showed better than expected performance in providing safety for patients in the Medicare population, as measured by objective outcomes (risk-adjusted patient safety indicator rates) across 13 of the 14 most common patient safety indicators, as defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
“Healthgrades report highlights the variation in hospital quality, both locally and across the nation, in order to show consumers that spending time on understanding hospital performance can be a matter of life and death,” said Marks. “Consumers can be assured that a hospital that has been recognized with a Healthgrades 2013 Patient Safety Excellence Award has demonstrated an established commitment to patient safety.”
For more information about Healthgrades, to download a full copy of the report or to get information about hospital and physician quality, visit: www.Healthgrades.com.