Palomar Health, California’s largest healthcare district, has been recognized again as a 2024 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient by Healthgrades, the leading resource consumers use to find a hospital or doctor. This achievement, along with recently earning World’s Best Hospital for the sixth consecutive year by Newsweek, a 2023 Leapfrog Top Hospital Award recipient for quality and safety, reflects the healthcare system’s commitment to delivering safe, high-quality care to each and every patient.
Palomar Health sets itself apart by innovating and adopting new technologies, enabling it to serve the community in even bigger ways. At Palomar Health, the entire organization consistently seeks to improve the patient experience and provide extraordinary care by reimagining healthcare and removing the fear associated with it.
“Winning this accolade from Healthgrades is a testament to our fundamentals here at Palomar Health,” says Diane Hansen, president and CEO of Palomar Health. “Our patients are our primary focus, so we ensure that their safety and care are in the best possible hands of our world-class doctors. Our mission is to do everything we can to provide each patient with comfort, and support and heal everyone we serve.”
Healthgrades evaluated risk-adjusted complication and mortality rates for approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide to determine this year’s top-performing hospitals for patient safety. During the 2020-2022 study period, nearly 170,000 potentially preventable safety events occurred among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals, with four patient safety indicators accounting for close to 75% of these incidents. Healthgrades’ analysis revealed that patients treated in hospitals receiving the 2024 Patient Safety Excellence Award have a significantly lower chance of experiencing one of the four leading safety indicators than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals:
- In-hospital falls resulting in fracture (approximately 52% less likely)
- Collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest (approximately 56% less likely)
- Pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital (approximately 67% less likely)
- Catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital (approximately 71% less likely)
“Palomar Health has cultivated an outstanding safety culture that prioritizes the wellbeing of both patients and staff, setting a high standard for patient safety nationwide,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Data Science at Healthgrades. “We’re proud to recognize Palomar Health for providing top-quality care while preventing serious injuries to patients during their hospital stay.”
Palomar Health has earned this accolade for the second year in a row because it is top in the nation for providing excellence in patient safety by preventing infections, medical errors, and other preventable complications. Additionally, Palomar Health is a recent recipient of the Healthgrades Specialty Clinical Quality awards this year: America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery Award (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021) and America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery Award (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021).
These awards collectively highlight Palomar Health as a healthcare institution that consistently goes above and beyond in delivering outstanding medical care to its community, setting a benchmark for excellence in the healthcare industry.
