Chilton,Newton and Overlook Medical Centers Among Top Hospitals in Nation for Patient Safety
MARCH 14, 2023 – MORRISTOWN, NJ – Atlantic Health System, a leading provider of health care in New Jersey, today announced that Chilton Medical Center, Newton Medical Center and Overlook Medical Center have all been recognized by Healthgrades as 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipients. This distinction places these three Atlantic Health System hospitals among the top 10% -- with Chilton and Overlook Medical Centers among the top 5% -- of all short-term acute care hospitals as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers.
“At Atlantic Health System, patient safety is our top priority as we continually analyze and enhance our safety standards, quality benchmarks and positive health outcomes,” said Donna Lawson, Vice President, Quality and Patient Safety, Atlantic Health System. “This recognition is a testament to the culture of safety displayed daily by our teams at Chilton, Newton and Overlook Medical Centers.”
During the 2019-2021 study period, 164,592 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 the hospital, and catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in-hospital. Healthgrades’ analysis also revealed that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:
- 61.4% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip
fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals* - 52.7% 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* - 66.1% less likely to experience pressure ulcer or bed sores acquired in the
hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals* - 67.3% 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 2023 Patient Safety Award recipients, on average, 95,880 patient safety events could have been avoided.*
“Through our 2023 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 Chilton, Newton and Overlook Medical Centers as 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients 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 2022.0.1) for MedPAR data years 2019 through 2021 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only.