AdventHealth Hospitals Win National Safety Award for Reducing Patient Falls

ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices PSO names AdventHealth Zephyrhills and AdventHealth Dade City hospitals winners of the 2023 Safety Excellence Award.

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Nov. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ECRI, the nation's largest independent nonprofit patient safety organization (PSO), names AdventHealth Zephyrhills and AdventHealth Dade City hospitals in Pasco County, FL, winners of the 2023 Safety Excellence Award.

AdventHealth received the award for launching a Patient Falls Bootcamp that reduced incidents of patients falling by 33 percent overall, with some hospital units improving as much as 40 to 50 percent over the previous year.

Each year in the United States, between 700,000 and 1,000,000 people fall in hospitals, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Many of these falls result in severe harm or even death.

The annual Safety Excellence Award recognizes outstanding patient safety initiatives led by PSOs that partner with ECRI, and members of ECRI and the ISMP PSO. The winning submission was selected based on a blinded panel review of four key criteria: impact, culture of safety, scale, and innovation.

"We applaud AdventHealth Zephyrhills and AdventHealth Dade City hospitals for successfully tackling a perennial issue in healthcare: fall prevention," says Dheerendra Kommala, MD, chief medical officer, ECRI. "The bootcamp has proven to be a powerful intervention that not only enhanced patient safety, but also helped to foster a sustained culture of patient fall prevention. ECRI is proud to support AdventHealth's ongoing commitment to excellence in safety and quality."

The AdventHealth Patient Falls Bootcamp helped frontline hospital staff identify safety hazards, recognize the characteristics of a high-risk patient, and ensure fall risk strategies were in place. The bootcamp included education sessions on the use of gait belts, tips for conversations with patients, and guidance on implementing an early mobility program. AdventHealth credits ECRI's guidance on high-risk patients, risk assessment questionnaires, and strategies to identify hazards as contributing factors to the program's success.

"The bootcamp shook up the traditional approach to strategy sessions by incorporating high-energy activities that immersed participants in a new way of thinking," says Peggy Maguire, the director of risk management for both AdventHealth Zephyrhills and AdventHealth Dade City. "The concept of a bootcamp incorporates intensive training designed to rapidly improve and significantly impact a metric. This award recognizes the cultural transformation that was ignited and sustained across both hospitals as a result."

The AdventHealth PSO is one of several PSOs that partner with ECRI. The 2023 Safety Excellence Award ceremony was held virtually on November 1, 2023, as part of ECRI and the ISMP PSO's Annual Meeting.

ECRI and the ISMP PSO maintain the largest patient safety reporting and learning system—collecting and analyzing more than five million patient safety events across 90 percent of the United States. To learn more about ECRI and the ISMP PSO, or the Safety Excellence Award, visit www.ecri.org/pso, call (610) 825-6000, or e-mail [email protected]. 

About ECRI

ECRI is an independent, nonprofit organization improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care across all healthcare settings. With a focus on technology evaluation and safety, ECRI is respected and trusted by healthcare leaders and agencies worldwide. For more than fifty-five years, ECRI has built its reputation on integrity and disciplined rigor, with an unwavering commitment to independence and strict conflict-of-interest rules. ECRI is the only organization worldwide to conduct independent medical device evaluations, with labs located in North America and Asia Pacific. ECRI is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In 2020, The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) formally became an ECRI Affiliate. Visit ecri.org to learn more.

About the Institute for Safe Medication Practices

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is the only 501c (3) nonprofit organization devoted entirely to preventing medication errors. ISMP is known and respected as the gold standard for medication safety information. For more than 25 years, it also has served as a vital force for progress. ISMP's advocacy work alone has resulted in numerous necessary changes in clinical practice, public policy, and drug labeling and packaging. Among its many initiatives, ISMP runs the only national voluntary practitioner medication error reporting program, publishes newsletters with real-time error information read and trusted throughout the global healthcare community, and offers a wide range of unique educational programs, tools, and guidelines. In 2020, ISMP formally affiliated with ECRI, and ECRI and the ISMP PSO is a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As a watchdog organization, ISMP receives no advertising revenue and depends entirely on charitable donations, educational grants, newsletter subscriptions, and volunteer efforts to pursue its life-saving work. Visit www.ismp.org and follow @ismp_org.

About AdventHealth Dade City

AdventHealth Dade City is a 120-bed acute care hospital and is a member of the faith-based AdventHealth System, providing a connected network of care in nearly a dozen states with close to 50 hospitals and hundreds of care sites. Since 1973, the hospital has provided exceptional care and award-winning service. With a mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ, the hospital is focused on delivering whole-person care through skilled and compassionate caregivers who provide individualized care for body, mind, and spirit. The hospital offers a wide variety of services, including, but not limited to, heart care, orthopedics, surgical care, bariatrics and digestive health, women's health, robotics, a 24/7 emergency room with online scheduling, rehabilitation, and transitional care unit. To learn more about the hospital's programs and services, visit AHDadeCity.com.

About AdventHealth Zephyrhills

AdventHealth Zephyrhills is a 149-bed acute care hospital and is a member of the faith-based AdventHealth System, providing a connected network of care in nearly a dozen states with more than 50 hospitals and hundreds of care sites. Since 1985, the hospital has provided award-winning care with a mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ. The hospital offers a wide variety of services, including heart care, orthopedics, women's health, surgical care, digestive health, robotic technology, a 24/7 emergency room with online scheduling, and more. With a focus on whole-person care, skilled and compassionate caregivers provide individualized care for body, mind, and spirit. To learn more about the hospital's services, visit AHZephyrhills.com.

SOURCE ECRI