Hospitals Honored for Efforts to Eliminate Preventable Deaths

The Patient Safety Movement has collaborated with the Carter Foundation for the 4^th consecutive year to prevent deaths in hospitals. Each year, the hospital that succeeds in eliminating the most preventable deaths wins an exclusive fishing trip with former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter in Georgia.

A winner was chosen based on their display of commitment toward preventing deaths in a measurable way through the implementation of practices to eliminate preventable deaths, such as the Actionable Patient Safety Solutions (APPS), according to a statement from the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.

“We appreciate the opportunity to celebrate those committed to saving lives and focused on achieving zero preventable deaths. I want to thank former President Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter for their continued support and dedication to protect patient safety,” said Joe Kiani, Chairman and Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, in the prepared statement. “Their participation plays an important role in helping us reach our goal of zero preventable deaths by 2020.”

The organization stresses the importance of implementing these practices to reduce preventable deaths by sharing results from a recent study. This study found that more patients around the world die each year from poor quality health care than those who die from lack of access to care.

This year, the foundation is honoring 3 hospitals that have made an effort to reduce preventable deaths and quantified the results of those efforts: MedStar Health, Parrish Medical Center, and Intermountain Health.

MedStar Health is being awarded the prize as the top hospital this year, with 225 lives saved through their practices. Based in Columbia, MD, MedStar worked to eliminate hospital associated infections, which make up a large portion of hospital related complications. Each year, around 650,000 patients are infected while staying in a hospital, totaling at over 1 million cases of hospital associated infections annually. Not only did MedStar work to reduce these infections, but they also committed to identifying and treating sepsis and prioritize safety, according to the statement.

Parrish Medical Center in Titusville, FL saved 110 lives and is being recognized as the first 5 star ranked hospital by the Patient Safety Movement Foundation. This distinguished ranking is being awarded to honor the hospitals commitment to all of the Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, addressing the most common causes of preventable deaths in hospitals. Parrish Medical Center worked to decrease the amount of deaths related to pediatric adverse drug events, a common cause of preventable mortality. The Institute for Safe Medicine Practices reported 45,000 adverse drug events in children under 18 between 2008 and 2012, with more than half of resulting in a serious injury and 2,935 deaths related to pediatric drug adverse events. The hospital also worked to prevent falls and implement a strong antimicrobial stewardship program, according to the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.

Lastly, Intermountain Health is being honored for preventing 75 deaths through their commitment to patient safety. The Utah-based health system worked to reduce venous thromboembolisms, a complication associated with poor patient outcomes, longer hospital stays, and approximately 100,000 to 300,000 deaths each year. The hospital also worked to eliminate cases of central line-associated bloodstream infections and catheter-associated urinary tract infections, 2 infections common in hospitals.

“Patient safety concerns everyone, and I applaud the efforts of hospitals who are actively working to implement processes to make hospitals safer for everyone,” said President Jimmy Carter, in a prepared statement.

Reference

Fishing with President and Mrs. Carter to Reach ZERO [news release]. Irvine, CA; October 23, 2018: Patient Safety Movement. https://patientsafetymovement.org/news/save-lives-and-fish-with-the-president/. Accessed October 29, 2018.