Thibodaux, LA - August 22, 2012 – Thibodaux Regional Health System was identified as a recipient
of the 2011 HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™, indicating
that its patient safety ratings are in the top 5% of U.S. hospitals. In
a new study released by HealthGrades, the nation's most trusted source
of healthcare provider information, Thibodaux Regional is one of only
268 hospitals in the country to receive this designation.
The study finds that Medicare patients at Patient Safety Excellence Award
hospitals were 46.26% less likely to experience a patient safety event
during the time period studied. In addition, if all hospitals performed
at this level of distinction as Thibodaux approximately 174,358 patient
safety events and 20,688 Medicare deaths could have been avoided while
saving the federal government approximately $1.8 billion in excess healthcare
costs from 2007 – 2009.
The eighth annual
HealthGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals study analyzed nearly 40 million hospitalization records from approximately
5,000 hospitals nationwide that participate in the Medicare program. Participation
in the HealthGrades study is not voluntary, and hospitals cannot choose
to opt out of the analysis.
“We’ve seen great advances in medical care in the last few
decades, but along with these miraculous advances come greater and greater
risks. Hospitals like Thibodaux Regional have shown definitively that
it is possible to provide the best in medical care while still focusing
on the safety of the patient,” said Rick May, MD, vice president
of Clinical Quality Improvement at HealthGrades and co-author of the study.
The eighth annual HealthGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study
evaluates patient safety in U.S. hospitals. HeathGrades used Medicare
inpatient data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR)
database and Patient Safety Indicator software from the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ) to calculate event rates for 13 indicators
of patient safety for all of the nation’s hospitals. All analysis
was based on data from 2007 to 2009 with the exception of Foreign Body
Left After a Procedure which was based only on data from 2009. These indicators
identify the best-performing hospitals, or Patient Safety Excellence Award™
Hospitals, which represent the top 5% of all U.S. hospitals. HealthGrades
developed this award to give patients more information about choosing
a hospital.
About Thibodaux Regional Health System
Thibodaux Regional Health System, a 185-bed acute care facility, provides
inpatient and outpatient care for the people of Lafourche and seven surrounding
parishes. Highly specialized services offered include Heart Surgery, Medical
and Radiation Oncology, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Sports
Medicine, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, General, Laparoscopic, and
Bariatric Surgery, Pulmonology, Rheumatology, Women’s Services,
Sleep Disorders, Behavioral Health, and Inpatient and Outpatient Physical
Rehabilitation Services. Nationally recognized for quality care and service,
Thibodaux Regional has been named a Distinguished Hospital by J.D. Power
and Associates and has been honored with the Press Ganey Summit Award
for high levels of patient satisfaction.