St. Mary’s Medical Center Received Top Recognition for Patient Safety November 16, 2012 News, SFMS Member St. Mary's Medical Center, Patient Safety First 0 St. Mary’s Medical Center (SMMC) was selected as one of eight Northern California hospitals to receive recognition as a “top performer” for reducing two or more types of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) to zero and maintaining that standard for a full year from April 2011 through June 2012. SMMC and its physicians are long-time supporter of the San Francisco Medical Society, making patient safety a top priority at the hospital. The awards were given by the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California in a ceremony to celebrate the successes of top performers in Patient Safety First, an innovative program that uses regional peer-to-peer learning to accelerate the adoption of patient safety practices and strategies for improvement. Launched in 2010, Patient Safety First is a groundbreaking three-year, $6 million collaboration designed to improve quality of care, reduce health care costs and ultimately save lives by improving patient safety and perinatal care in California. The program is funded by Anthem Blue Cross, evaluated by the National Health Foundation, and operated by California’s Regional Hospital Associations. A total of 180 hospitals across the state participate in Patient Safety First, representing almost half of all hospitals in California. A study by the National Health Foundation on the first two years of the program finds more than 973 lives have been saved as a result of reducing sepsis mortality. In addition, an estimated $19 million in costs were avoided as a result of this statewide patient safety initiative, $3.75 million of which was a result of reducing early elective deliveries. One of the goals of Patient Safety First is to see a 30 percent reduction in sepsis mortality. Sepsis is a potentially deadly medical condition that causes inflammatory responses in the entire body during the presence of an infection. And, because babies delivered prior to 37 weeks of gestation have a higher rate of infant mortality and are more likely to have other medical issues, including lung problems, brain impairments and infections, another goal of Patient Safety First is to see hospitals reduce elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks to 5 percent or less. In addition to a focus on early elective deliveries and sepsis, Patient Safety First targets other hospital acquired infections, including ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP), central line blood stream infections (CLBSI) and catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). Comments are closed.
