39 PA Hospitals Named Among Best For Patient Safety, Experience

PENNSYLVANIA — Dozens of hospitals in Pennsylvania are among hundreds nationwide recognized for safety and patient experience by Healthgrades, a comprehensive database of ratings and comparisons for physicians, hospitals and health care providers.

Awards announced Tuesday include the 2024 Patient Safety Excellence Award, which recognizes hospitals nationwide for high-quality care and prevention of serious safety events during hospital stays, and the 2024 Outstanding Patient Experience Award.

Only 79 of 444 hospitals nationwide received both awards.

The hospitals in Pennsylvania that were among those recognized on the Patient Safety Excellence Award include:

1. Ahn Wexford Hospital, Wexford
2. Chester County Hospital, West Chester
3. Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster
4. Lower Bucks Hospital, Bristol
5. Oss Orthopaedic Hospital, York
6. Penn Highlands Huntingdon, Huntingdon
7. Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia
8. Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia
9. Riddle Memorial Hospital, Media
10. Rothman Orthopaedic Specialty Hospital, Bensalem
11. Saint Luke's Hospital Monroe, Stroudsburg
12. St. Luke’s Anderson Campus, Easton
13. St. Luke's Hospital - Bethlehem Campus, Bethlehem
14. Surgical Institute of Reading, Wyomissing
15. Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia
16. UPMC Altoona, Altoona
17. UPMC Carlisle, Carlisle
18. Washington Hospital, Washington

The hospitals in Pennsylvania that were among those recognized on the Outstanding Patient Experience Award include:

1. Advanced Surgical Hospital, Washington
2. Ahn Wexford Hospital, Wexford
3. Bryn Mawr Hospital, Bryn Mawr
4. Chester County Hospital, West Chester
5. Doylestown Hospital, Doylestown
6. Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg
7. Geisinger St. Luke's Hospital, Orwigsburg
8. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
9. Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster
10. Lankenau Medical Center, Wynnewood
11. Milton S Hershey Medical Center, Hershey
12. Oss Orthopaedic Hospital, York
13. Paoli Hospital, Paoli
14. Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia
15. Physician's Care Surgical Hospital, Royersford
16. Rothman Orthopaedic Specialty Hospital, Bensalem
17. Surgical Institute of Reading, Wyomissing
18. UPMC Passavant - McCandless, Pittsburgh
19. UPMC Presbyterian, Pittsburgh
20. UPMC St. Margaret, Pittsburgh
21. Wayne Memorial Hospital, Honesdale

The following hospitals received both accolades in 2024:

• Ahn Wexford Hospital, Wexford
• Chester County Hospital, West Chester
• Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster
• Oss Orthopaedic Hospital, York
• Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia
• Rothman Orthopaedic Specialty Hospital, Bensalem
• Surgical Institute of Reading, Wyomissing

The Patient Safety Excellence Award was presented to the top 10 percent of hospitals, based on an analysis of required data reporting in 13 patient safety measures. Read more about the methodology.

Healthgrades said that if all hospitals observed the same protocols as those in this category, they could have avoided more than 97,000 patient safety events between 2020 and 2022, the report said. The analysis revealed that patients treated at recipient hospitals are less likely to experience the following safety events compared to patients treated at non-recipient hospitals:

• In-hospital falls resulting in fracture (approximately 52 percent less likely)
• Collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest (approximately 56 percent less likely)
• Pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital (approximately 67 percent less likely)
• Catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital (approximately 71 percent less likely).

For the patient experience awards, Healthgrades reviewed Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems patient survey data. Read more about the methodology. The 388 award recipients in this category represent the top 15 percent of eligible U.S. hospitals that provided best-in-class patient experiences during the January 2022 to December 2022 study period.

Experiences that made a difference to patients included communication with both doctors and nurses, as well as clear communication about follow-up care upon discharge.