Orlando Health Hospitals Recognized for Patient Safety with A Grades
All eligible Orlando Health hospitals received A grades in the most recent rating period by The Leapfrog Group, a patient safety advocacy organization. The hospitals are ORMC, Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, South Seminole Hospital, South Lake Hospital, in affiliation with Orlando Health, and Health Central Hospital. The Leapfrog Group does not grade specialty hospitals like Arnold Palmer Hospital and Winnie Palmer Hospital.
In addition to the A grade, Health Central also received “Straight A” designation. This special designation is a result of the hospital consistently receiving A grades since the first hospital grades were released in April 2012. With this most recent grading period, Health Central has now earned eight consecutive A grades; an achievement accomplished by only 181 other hospitals across the nation.
The A scores are based on a number of factors including how hospitals protect their patients from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. They reflect the achievements Orlando Health has made over the last few years.
"All of our clinical teams have worked extremely hard to meet and exceed expectations of the care we provide to patients,” said Thomas Kelley, MD, Chief of Quality and Clinical Transformation for Orlando Health. “As a result of procedural, cultural, and clinical changes, we have dramatically reduced or practically eliminated conditions that had historically been considered virtually impossible to impact. We are elated at our progress and look forward to making even greater strides in the future.”
Since 2011, Orlando Health hospitals have experienced steep declines in patient harm events.
•Readmission rates decreased by almost 17% from an average of 10.17% in 2011 to 8.46% in 2015
•Surgical Site Infection (SSI) rates have declined by more than one-third, from an average of 1.1% in 2011 to .71% in 2015
•Mortality rates are down by almost 40%, from an average of 8.39% in 2011 to 5.09% in 2015
•Central Line-Associated Blood Stream Infection (CLABSI) rates dropped nearly 80% from an average of 3.72% in 2011 to .75% in 2015
•Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) rates experienced nearly a 90% drop from an average of 8.38% in 2011 to .87% in 2015
“Our patients are aware of the changes we’ve made and what it means to them,” added Dr. Kelley. “They appreciate that our committed and compassionate caregivers are also focused on safety and quality. We are beginning to see this reflected in our patient satisfaction scores.”
Overall patient satisfaction scores for the Orlando Health organization are up close to 5%, from an average of 71.19% in 2011 to 74.48% in 2015.
“To be recognized for excellent quality and safety throughout our healthcare system is something we’ve come to expect,” said David Strong, president and CEO, Orlando Health. “We want to thank all of our physicians, nurses, and other clinicians for their laser-like focus on providing the highest level of care to all of our patients.”
