UNC Health Southeastern in the Top 10 Percent of Hospitals in the US for Patient Safety, According to Healthgrades 

Garret Spry, Healthgrades Senior Director of Quality Solutions, presented a 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award trophy to UNC Health Southeastern’s executive leadership team on Tuesday, April 26. Pictured from left, are, VP/Chief Engagement Patrick Ebri, PhD, President/Chief Executive Officer Chris Ellington, VP/Chief Nurse Executive Renae Taylor, Spry, VP/Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joe Roberts, Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer Lori Dove, and General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer Tom Schram.

Tuesday, April 26--UNC Health Southeastern today announced that it has been recognized by Healthgrades as a 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipient. This distinction places UNC Health Southeastern among the top 10 percent of all short-term acute care hospitals as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers.

“This award from Healthgrades serves as further testament to the dedication of the staff at UNC Health Southeastern to serving our community, said UNC Health Southeastern President/CEO Chris Ellington. “Keeping our patients safe while caring for their illness is a top priority and being recognized for this commitment as one of the best in the country is extraordinary.”

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 percent 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 percent less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 52.6 percent 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 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 65.8 percent 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 UNC Health Southeastern as a 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient and look forward to their continued efforts to make patient safety a priority.”

Other quality achievements by UNC Health Southeastern and its affiliates include:

• The Surgery Center at Southeastern Health Park was re-accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) in February 2022.
• In June 2021, UNC Health Southeastern received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award. The medical center is one of only 132 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
• Southeastern Wound Healing Center was named a recipient of the Center of Distinction award by Healogics®, the nation’s largest provider of advanced wound care services in May 2021. SWHC achieved outstanding clinical outcomes for 12 consecutive months, including patient satisfaction rates higher than 92 percent and a minimum wound healing rate of at least 92 percent within 28 median days to heal. There were 555 centers eligible for the Center of Distinction award and 278 achieved the honor. This was the 12th year SWHC has earned the award.
• UNC Health Southeastern received the North Carolina Maternity Center Breastfeeding-Friendly Designation from the North Carolina Division of Public Health in March 2021. UNC Health Southeastern was designated with three stars for their efforts in implementing policies and practices that support a breastfeeding-friendly environment for patients.
• Southeastern Health Heart and Vascular achieved 4-star ratings across the board for performance in 2020 in the American College of Cardiology and the National Cardiovascular Data Registry’s Cath PCI registry.

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.

About UNC Health Southeastern
UNC Health Southeastern is part of North Carolina’s leading public academic health system, UNC Health. Based in Lumberton, NC, the award winning health system has been honored for achievements in heart and wound care, and has earned designations as an Energy Star facility, Breastfeeding-Friendly facility, and Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, as well as numerous other prestigious health care accolades. UNC Health Southeastern offers care for the entire family and lifespan with a full-service medical center as well as specialty clinics and primary care clinics located throughout the region including Bladen, Columbus and Cumberland counties. To learn more about our health system and the services we provide, visit www.unchealthsoutheastern.org.

About Healthgrades
Healthgrades is dedicated to empowering stronger and more meaningful connections between patients and their healthcare providers. As the #1 platform for finding a doctor and as a leader in healthcare transparency, we help millions of consumers each month find and schedule appointments with their provider of choice and prepare for their appointments with best-in-class, treatment-focused content.