Westfield Hospital earns prestigious 2013 Patient Safety Excellence award; only hospital in Lehigh Valley

Westfield Hospital, a personalized acute-care general hospital, located in South Whitehall Township, has recently earned two important honors based on hospital safety standards.

Westfield Hospital has once again received the "gold standard" by the Joint Commission for National Quality Approval. The "Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit, national body that oversees the safety and quality of health care and other services provided in accredited organizations." On February 14, 2013, Westfield received its "Accredited" status as a result of the three day Joint Commission survey.

After just completing a five day survey from the Department of Health, Westfield Hospital was excited to also earn the 2013 Patient Safety Excellence Award from HealthGrades.com. This honor was bestowed upon Westfield Hospital, as the only local hospital to earn this impressive patient safety accolade.

For a complete list of awarded hospitals, go to https://d2dcgio3q2u5fb.cloudfront.net/61/d9/677c2c634e90b0d6e9d260773afa/2013-improving-patient-experience-identifying-the-things-that-matter.pdf

From 2009-2011, there were 287,630 serious potentially preventable patient safety events among Medicare patients in this country’s hospitals. Patients treated in "Patient Safety Excellence Award" hospitals, like Westfield Hospital, were 81 percent less likely to experience a hip fracture following surgery; 80 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital; and 70 percent less likely to experience a catheter-related bloodstream infection acquired in the hospital.

According to HealthGrades, three indicators account for 66 percent of all patient safety events including "deep blood clots in the lungs or legs following surgery; accidental puncture or laceration during a procedure; and respiratory failure following surgery."

"Patient Safety is always our top priority," commented Westfield’s COO, Cheryl Kreider. Yasin Khan, M.D., CEO continued, "Our staff strives to make every patient’s experience comfortable and dignified, but most importantly, our dedicated staff is diligent about reducing hospital-acquired infections, preventing patient safety events, set forth by the Joint Commission standards, and work as a team to best care for all of our patients."

Kreider remarked, "I am very proud of the fine work of our staff and of Westfield’s recent achievements with the Joint Commission, Department of Health, and now Health Grades. Health Grades used surveys from the past three years, demonstrating Westfield’s true commitment to patient safety, improved outcomes, and a quality patient experience."

According to Healthgrades.com, "More than 200 million consumers use Healthgrades websites to find, compare, select, and connect with a doctor or hospital, and use its comprehensive information about clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, patient safety, and health conditions to make more informed healthcare decisions."

Healthgrades is the leading online resource that helps consumers search, evaluate, compare and connect with physicians and hospitals; they issued their report on April 9, 2013. The report, "Variation in Patient Safety Outcomes and the Importance of Being Informed" measured how well hospitals are keeping patients safe by preventing medical errors and avoidable complications. "As part of this report, Healthgrades recognized 379 hospitals across the nation as Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipients for 2013. The distinction places this elite group of hospitals within the top 10 percent of all hospitals for their excellent performance in safeguarding patients from serious, potentially preventable complications during their hospital stays.

"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."