BEAUFORT MEMORIAL RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE TOP HOSPITALS IN THE U.S. FOR SAFETY AND QUALITY
story by COURTNEY McDERMOTT
photo by PAUL NURNBERG
If you’re looking for nationally ranked healthcare, look no further than our own backyard.
Beaufort Memorial Hospital was recently named a Top General Hospital in the country by national watchdog organization The Leapfrog Group, a recognition of its achievements in patient safety and quality. It is among only three hospitals in South Carolina to earn the distinction.
“We are honored to recognize Beaufort Memorial as a Top Hospital this year,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Beaufort Memorial Hospital has demonstrated that they truly put patients first. We congratulate the board, staff, and clinicians whose efforts made this honor possible.”
The Leapfrog Group Top Hospital award is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive awards American hospitals can receive. Granted to a select group of hospitals who have earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade, only 5% of the nation’s hospitals were recognized as “Top” this year.
“This type of recognition can only be achieved with a hospital-wide commitment to safety, involving everyone from our housekeeping and food services staffs to the nurses, doctors, and technicians on our medical team,” said Beaufort Memorial President and CEO Russell Baxley. “Their hard work and vigilance to keep patients, visitors and each other safe is central to the values we hold as an organization. I am proud to work alongside this amazing team.”
Maternity and orthopedic care were among the top patient care areas for which Beaufort Memorial received recognition.
“The physicians, nurses and staff at the Birthing Center consistently focus on providing the best care to every mother and newborn, every day,” said Dr. Gregory A. Miller, chair of obstetrics and a board-certified OBGYN who delivers hundreds of babies at the hospital each year. “This commitment to quality is in part why Beaufort Memorial is being recognized.”
The quality of patient care across many areas of hospital performance is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, practices for safer surgery, maternity care, and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication errors.
For the last 10 years, the Leapfrog Group has assigned letter grades to hospitals throughout the United States, based on a hospital’s ability to prevent medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and freely available to the public. Hospital Safety Grade results are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring. The most recent scores can be found at HospitalSafetyGrade.org.
Beaufort Memorial has been advancing hospital-wide patient safety efforts for many years, the results of which have garnered the organization state and national recognition. Currently, Beaufort Memorial is one of only three South Carolina hospitals with advanced certification for hip and knee replacement from The Joint Commission, the accrediting body for all hospitals in the nation.
“When patients come to Beaufort Memorial for orthopedic care like joint replacement surgery, they can expect better outcomes and a shorter length of stay, as well as fewer complications and readmissions after surgery,” said Dr. Edward Blocker, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and chair of orthopedics at Beaufort Memorial.
This focus on safety continues to be especially important as the hospital embarks on a multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion of its Surgical Pavilion in Beaufort. The project will include the addition of two state-of-the-art surgical suites to accommodate the growing demand for advanced procedures, enlarge existing suites to optimize the surgical process, and attract top physicians.
“The caliber of staff at Beaufort Memorial Hospital is why we’ve been ranked in the top 5% across the nation for quality and safety,” Baxley said. “Everyone understands how important it is to provide safe, quality care to every one of our patients, and we allow safety to inform every intervention that occurs in our hospital.”
To learn more about Beaufort Memorial services and safety efforts visit BeaufortMemorial.org.
