Cape Cod Hospital Achieves Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM

Cape Cod Hospital announced today that it has been recognized as a Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM recipient. This distinction places Cape Cod Hospital among the top 5% of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers.
Cape Cod Hospital is the only hospital in Massachusetts to be among the top 5% of recipients.
From 2017 through 2019, there were 190,273 potentially preventable patient safety events among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals.* And if all hospitals performed similarly to better-than-expected hospitals on each of 13 Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) evaluated by Healthgrades, 106,052 patient safety events could have been avoided, on average.*

During this time, 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*

“We have an unwavering focus on clinical quality and safe patient care and this designation is proof. Providing an outstanding patient experience remained our focus during COVID-19, and the contributions of all hospital staff were invaluable -- from physicians, nurses, techs and staff -- who put in the hard work in order to achieve this award. We have an incredible team,” said Michael K. Lauf, CEO and president of Cape Cod Healthcare.

“The importance of hospital quality is now at the forefront of consumer’s minds, especially as we continue to navigate COVID-19. We congratulate the recipients of the Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award for their ongoing commitment to upholding the highest quality standards for their patients and communities,” said Brad Bowman, MD, chief medical officer at Healthgrades.

During the study period (2017 through 2019), the 2021 recipients of the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award demonstrated excellent performance in patient safety within the Medicare population, as measured by objective outcomes. These include 13 risk-adjusted patient safety indicator (PSI) rates defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and an additional PSI - Foreign Objects Left in Body During a Surgery or Procedure – is included, 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.

About Cape Cod Healthcare
Cape Cod Healthcare is the leading provider of healthcare services for residents and visitors of Cape Cod. With more than 450 physicians, 5,700 employees and 790 volunteers, Cape Cod Healthcare has two acute care hospitals, the Cape’s leading provider of homecare and hospice services (VNA), a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, an assisted living facility, four urgent care centers and numerous health programs. For more information, visit Cape Cod Healthcare’s web site at www.capecodhealth.org. Cape Cod Healthcare. Visit our health news site www.capecodhealthnews.com for the latest in relevant and credible healthcare news.