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HCA Florida Citrus Hospital, formerly Citrus Memorial Hospital, was recognized as a 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient.

The recognition was by Healthgrades, a Denver-based company that assembles and analyzes health care information about thousands of hospitals and health care providers, and provides that information to the public to better understand its health care options.

The patient safety award involves Healthgrades analyzing Medicare data around preventable events at hospitals that endanger patients’ lives.

The award puts the Inverness hospital among the top 5 percent for patient safety.

Safety indicators used to determine a health safety grade include hip fractures from in-hospital falls, collapsed lung following a procedure or surgery, infections due to a catheter, bed sores, accidental cuts, excessive bruising or bleeding following surgery, and blood clots.

The 2022 excellence award utilized data from 2018-2020 and more than 170,000 potentially preventable patient events, according to a news release.

Healthgrades reported 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

Healthgrades also reported that the 204-bed hospital had no incidence where surgeons left objects behind in their patient during a procedure. The hospital also had ratings in three categories that were better than the national average and 10 ratings as expected.

“We are excited to see HCA Florida Citrus Hospital named among the top hospitals in the nation for patient safety, as our focus is on providing our patients with higher-quality, safe care,” said Katie Myers, HCA Citrus Hospital spokeswoman. “A continuous process, we are committed to looking for new ways to make the care we provide safer for our community members.”

Another nearby hospital that also received the safety excellence award was HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, which won the award in 2020,2021, and 2022.

“Our patients are in the forefront of every decision we make; we want them to feel safe and cared for when within these walls,” said Chad Christianson, CEO of HCA Ocala Hospital in a news release. “It’s the contribution of all of our team members that led to this achievement, and we are thankful for their commitment.”

Bravera Health Seven Rivers was also evaluated but was not awarded. The Crystal River hospital had no occurrence of foreign objects left in patients during surgery, but had one rating worse than expected involving collapsed lungs during a procedure or surgery, and 12 ratings as expected.

During the study, 55 percent of Bravera Seven Rivers’ patients said they would definitely recommend the hospital. That’s 15 percentage points below the national average.

For HCA Florida Citrus, 65 percent said they would definitely recommend their hospital. That was 5 percent below the national average.

Fred Hiers is a reporter at the Citrus Chronicle. E-mail him at fred.hiers@chronicleonline.com

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