Sampson Regional Medical Center (SampsonRMC) today announced that it has been recognized by Healthgrades as a 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipient. This distinction places SampsonRMC among the top 10% of all short-term acute care hospitals as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers.

“This is a real honor for us, especially being recognized three years in a row. We take great pride to be among the nation’s hospitals earning this distinction. We work hard every day to deliver safe and quality care to our patients, and this award reflects that commitment,” said Dr. Shawn Howerton, Chief Executive & Medical Officer for Sampson Regional Medical Center. “This level of quality care is possible because of our providers, leadership, and staff who make continuous improvement a priority. We value our team and their commitment to keep patients safe in our hospital,” stated Dr. Howerton.

During the study period (2018 through 2020), 170, 231 potentially preventable patient safety events occurred among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals.* Healthgrades found that just four patient safety indicators accounted for 74% of all patient safety events: hip fracture due to an in-hospital fall, collapsed lung resulting from a procedure/surgery, pressure or bed sores acquired in-hospital, and catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in-hospital. Healthgrades also found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ were, on average:

• 55.8% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 52.6% less likely to experience a collapsed lung resulting from a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 66.2% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 65.8% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at nonrecipient hospitals*

When it comes to choosing healthcare, quality saves lives, which is why Healthgrades is committed to delivering the most scientifically accurate and comprehensive information about doctors and hospitals — with data insights not available anywhere else. To that end, it's important for consumers to know that if all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to the Healthgrades Patient Safety Award Recipients, on average, 100,189 patient safety events could have been avoided.*

“Through our 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Awards, we seek to recognize hospitals that excel in providing top-quality care for their patients while preventing serious injuries during hospital stays,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and head of Data Science, Healthgrades. “We are proud to name Sampson Regional Medical Center as a 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient and look forward to their continued efforts to make patient safety a priority.”

Consumers can visit healthgrades.com for more information on how Healthgrades measures hospital quality and access the complete methodology here.

*Statistics are calculated from Healthgrades Patient Safety Ratings and Excellence Award™ methodology which is based primarily on AHRQ technical specifications (Version 2021.0.1) for MedPAR data years 2018 through 2020 and represent 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only.