SurgiCount Medical Announces the Successful Implementation of the Safety-Sponge® System at the University of Michigan Health System

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- SurgiCount Medical, the wholly-owned operating subsidiary of Patient Safety Technologies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: PSTX) today announced the successful implementation of the Safety-Sponge® System at the University of Michigan Health System located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  The Safety-Sponge® System is a proven solution to prevent one of the most common surgical errors, retained surgical sponges.

Since the founding of the University of Michigan Medical School in 1848, the academic medical center, now known as the U-M Health System, has been recognized as a leading innovator and health care provider in Michigan, nationally, and worldwide.  It is consistently ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News and World Report, currently a member of the 2010-2011 Honor Roll, the only hospital in Michigan to make this list for 15 consecutive years and is also recognized for excellence in 15 specialty care areas.  With nearly 900 beds across three hospitals, U-M Health System has over 43,000 patient admissions, and performs over 45,000 surgical procedures on inpatients and outpatients across a broad range of specialties.

"We are proud to include the University of Michigan Health System to the growing list of users of the Safety-Sponge® System and believe adding an institution of this caliber further validates the benefits and advantages of the solution.  We look forward to supporting them in their ongoing effort to deliver excellence in patient care," stated Brian E. Stewart, President and CEO of Patient Safety Technologies.

"We have implemented the SurgiCount System to provide an added safety mechanism to the long-established practice of a manual sponge-counting process in our operating rooms," said Shawn Murphy MS, RN, Operating Room Director for UMHS.  "The SurgiCount technology provides the protection of identifying and counting each sponge used during a surgical procedure and also helps to support a standard practice for counting sponges that improves our ability to deliver safer care for our patients."

About Patient Safety Technologies, Inc. and SurgiCount Medical

Patient Safety Technologies, Inc., through its wholly owned operating subsidiary SurgiCount Medical, Inc., provides the Safety-Sponge® System, a solution proven to improve patient safety and reduce healthcare costs by preventing one of the most common errors in surgery, retained foreign objects.  For more information, contact SurgiCount Medical, Inc. at (949) 387-2277 or visit www.surgicountmedical.com.

About University of Michigan Healthcare System

The University of Michigan Health System includes three hospitals, six specialty centers, and more than 50 health centers and 120 outpatient clinics, along with the U-M Medical School and its Faculty Group Practice, the U-M School of Nursing and the Michigan Health Corp.  The U-M Hospitals, Medical School and School of Nursing consistently rank among the best in the nation.  For more information, visit www.med.umich.edu.

Patient Safety Technologies Contact

For further information please contact Brian E. Stewart at (949) 387-2277.

Some statements in this release may be "forward-looking statements" for the purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "potential," "continue" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  These factors, risks and uncertainties are discussed in Patient Safety Technologies, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, as updated from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Patient Safety Technologies, Inc.