HCA Gulf Coast
May 26, 2021

Five Hospitals Rank in the Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety

Houston, Texas — HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division announced today that five hospitals have been recognized as Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM recipients. This distinction places these five facilities among the top 5% of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers. This award recognizes hospitals for their performance in preventing serious, potentially preventable complications during hospital stays based on quality data from 2017-2019.

The following HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division hospitals are Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM recipients:

HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe

  • Recipient of the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for 3 Years in a Row (2019-2021)
  • Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety for 3 Years in a Row (2019-2021)

HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center

  • Recipient of the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for 2 Years in a Row (2020-2021)
  • Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety for 2 Years in a Row (2020-2021)

Valley Regional Medical Center

  • Recipient of the Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award™
  • Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety in 2021

Rio Grande Regional Hospital

  • Recipient of the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for 3 Years in a Row (2019-2021)
  • Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety for 3 Years in a Row (2019-2021)

Texas Orthopedic Hospital

  • Recipient of the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for 9 Years in a Row (2013-2021)
  • Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety for 9 Years in a Row (2013-2021)
  • Recipient of the Healthgrades 2021 Outstanding Patient Experience Award,™ which recognizes hospitals that provide an overall outstanding patient experience, as defined by the responses received from their own patients from January through December 2019.

From 2017 through 2019, there were 190,273 potentially preventable patient safety events among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals.* And, if all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to hospitals performing better than expected on each of 13 Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) evaluated by Healthgrades, on average, 106,052 patient safety events could have been avoided.*

During this time frame, four patient safety indicators accounted for 72% of all patient safety events (collapsed lung, hip fracture due to an in-hospital fall, pressure or bed sores and catheter-related bloodstream infections). Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average*:

  • 50.3% less likely to experience a collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.*
  • 60.3% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.*
  • 66.5% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.*
  • 65.4% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non- recipient hospitals.*

“At HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division, we are committed to delivering superior, patient-centered care to every patient every visit,” said Erin Erb, HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division vice president of quality. “I am exceptionally proud of these five hospitals for achieving this award and for continually being recognized by Healthgrades for their successful efforts in ensuring patient safety.”  

“The importance of hospital quality is now at the forefront of consumer’s minds, especially as we continue to navigate COVID-19. We congratulate the recipients of the Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award for their ongoing commitment to upholding the highest quality standards for their patients and communities,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades.

During the study period (2017 through 2019), Healthgrades 2021 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals demonstrated excellent performance in patient safety within the Medicare population, as measured by objective outcomes—risk-adjusted patient safety indicator (PSI) rates—for 13 PSIs defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). A 14th PSI is included in the evaluation - Foreign Objects Left in Body During a Surgery or Procedure – which is a “never” event and does not have an expected rate.

View Healthgrades hospital quality methodologies.

*Statistics are calculated from Healthgrades Patient Safety Ratings and Excellence Award methodology which is based primarily on AHRQ technical specifications (Version 2020.0.1) to MedPAR data for years 2017 through 2019 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only.