Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance recognized for Patient Safety Excellence by Healthgrades
Twelfth consecutive year ranking in the top 5 percent of acute care hospitals evaluated nationwide.
Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance was recently recognized with the Healthgrades 2024 Patient Safety Excellence Award, placing in the top 5 percent of acute care hospitals evaluated nationwide for an emphasis on safety.
This award notes significant success in avoiding falls, surgical complications, bed sores and hospital-acquired infections, according to Healthgrades, a leading website that links patients to health care.
“Our patients come to us in their most vulnerable times and trust we will take care of them — not only by providing excellent care, but by ensuring their safety,” said Michael Ricks, chief executive, Providence Los Angeles-Coastal Service Area. “Our physicians, our leaders and all of our caregivers are committed to keeping their eyes open to any potential safety hazards and following through to eliminate them.”
Ricks credited the Torrance hospital’s success to the culture of “high reliability” that has influenced efforts to recognize that health care workers’ greatest responsibility is the safety of their patients, visitors and one another. Clinical caregivers are required to take part in this training, which emphasizes safety and teaches techniques and behaviors that have been proven to reduce error and to improve safety in high-stress environments, including health care.
Additionally, three Providence hospitals in the San Fernando Valley, Providence Holy Cross, Providence Saint Joseph and Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana medical centers, also received the recognition for excellence in safety.
Healthgrades evaluated risk-adjusted complication and mortality rates for approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide to determine this year’s top-performing hospitals for patient safety. During the 2020-22 study period, nearly 170,000 potentially preventable safety events occurred among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals, with four patient safety indicators accounting for close to 75 percent of these incidents. Healthgrades’ analysis revealed that patients treated in hospitals receiving the 2024 Patient Safety Excellence Award have a significantly lower chance of experiencing one of the four leading safety indicators than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals:
● In-hospital fall resulting in fracture (approximately 52 percent less likely)
● Collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest (approximately 56 percent less likely)
● Pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital (approximately 67 percent less likely)
● Catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital (approximately 71 percent less likely)
“Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance has cultivated an outstanding safety culture that prioritizes the well-being of both patients and staff, setting a high standard for patient safety nationwide,” said Brad Bowman, M.D., chief medical officer and head of data science at Healthgrades.