Community Hospital Recognized for Patient Safety

is one of 268 hospitals nationwide to receive the HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award for 2011. HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, ranks the community hospital among the top 5% in the U.S. for overall patient safety outcomes.

“Ensuring patient safety and quality of care is a part of everyone’s job at Northside Hospital-Forsyth,” said Skip Putnam, CEO, Northside Hospital-Forsyth. “We are proud of our staff and are honored to receive this award in acknowledgement of our efforts. We will continue to provide the safest environment and best possible care for our community.”

The study, conducted between 2007 and 2009, analyzed medical records of 40 million Medicare patients nationwide. Researchers graded hospitals based on 13 patient safety indicators, like bed sores, excessive bleeding or bruising after surgery, bloodstream infections caused by catheters, deep blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery and foreign objects left in the body during a procedure.

“HealthGrades commends the efforts of those hospitals that are focused on providing consistent, safe and effective medical care,” said Rick May, MD, HealthGrades vice president of clinical quality services and co-author of the study. “But the fact remains that there are huge, life-and-death consequences associated with where a patient chooses to seek hospital care.

HealthGrades suggests that patients research the patient safety ratings of hospitals in their community and know what steps to take to protect themselves from error before being admitted.

For detailed information regarding the Patient Safety Ratings for Northside Hospital-Forsyth (click here).

Northside Hospital-Forsyth is a not-for-profit community hospital with a medical staff of more than 400 physicians and 1,300 employees. In 2002 Northside Hospital purchased the 62-bed Georgia Baptist Medical Center and renamed it Northside Hospital-Forsyth. Since then, the facility has grown to 132 beds and treated more than 124,000 patients in 2008.