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Nanticoke Memorial Hospital announced today that it has been once again recognized for two distinctions in quality excellence: the Healthgrades 2018 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ and the Healthgrades 2018 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™. This is the second year in a row that Nanticoke has received both of these awards. Only 65 out of just over 4,500 hospitals evaluated for patient safety and patient experience excellence achieved both distinctions. This places Nanticoke Health Services within the top 2 percent of eligible hospitals in the nation to receive both awards and, once again, the only healthcare organization on the Delmarva Peninsula to receive both awards. This distinction recognizes Nanticoke Hospital for excellent performance in safeguarding patients from serious, potentially preventable complications, as well as providing a positive experience for patients during their hospital stays. Healthgrades is the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. “I am truly at a loss for words. This prestigious recognition reflects the hard work and dedication of our team of healthcare professionals,” said Steve Rose, RN, MN, President and CEO of Nanticoke. “They continue to amaze with their commitment to our patients.” MORE ABOUT THE AWARDS: Patient Safety During the study period (2014 to 2016), Healthgrades 2018 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals demonstrated excellent performance in safety provided to patients in the Medicare population, as measured by objective outcomes (risk-adjusted patient safety indicator rates) for 13 patient safety indicators defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). If all hospitals achieved the average performance of award recipients for each of the 13 Patient Safety Indicators evaluated, during the 2014 to 2016 study period, 126,342 patient safety events could have been avoided. In addition, during this study period, patients treated in hospitals receiving Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average: • 55.6 percent less likely to experience an accidental cut, puncture, perforation or hemorrhage during medical care, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals • 52.4 percent 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 • 62.8 percent less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired at the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals • 54.3 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals Patient Experience In addition to being recognized as one of Healthgrades 2018 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients, Nanticoke Memorial Hospital also out-performed peer hospitals in patient experience. Healthgrades evaluated performance by applying a scoring methodology to 10 patient experience measures, using data collected from a 32-question patient experience survey of the hospital’s own patients. The survey questions focus on patients’ perspectives of their care in the hospital. The topics of these questions ranged from cleanliness and noise levels in patient rooms to factors such as pain management and responsiveness to patients’ needs. The measures also include whether a patient would recommend the hospital to friends or family. “Nanticoke Health Services is committed to providing the highest quality of care possible,” said Ray Fulkrod, Assistant Vice President of Clinical Operations at Nanticoke. “Quality and patient satisfaction are a top priority for all of our teams. We recognize the importance of these elements and embrace opportunities to ensure that our community is receiving the care they deserve. We could not be more proud of our staff.”