23 VA Hospitals Named Among Best For Patient Safety, Experience

VIRGINIA — More than 20 hospitals in Virginia 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 23 hospitals in Virginia that were among those recognized on the 2024 Patient Safety List included:

• Augusta Health, Fishersville VA Staunton-Waynesboro - Top 10%
• Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, Chesapeake VA - Top 10%
• HCA Healthcare Capital-Richmond, Chippenham Hospital, Richmond - Top 5%
• INOVA, Inova Alexandria Hospital - Top5%
• INOVA, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Fairfax VA - Top 5%
• Mountain States Health Alliance Johnston Memorial Hospital, Abingdon - Top 5%
• HCA Healthcare Capital-Lewisgale, Lewisgale Hospital Alleghany, Low Moor - Top 10%
• HCA Healthcare Capital-Lewisgale, Lewisgale Hospital Montgomery, Blacksburg - Top 10%
• HCA Healthcare Capital-Lewisgale, Lewisgale Hospital Pulaski - Top 10%
• HCA Healthcare Capital-Lewisgale, Lewisgale Medical Center, Salem - Top 5%
• HCA Healthcare Capital-Reston, Reston Hospital Center, Reston - Top 5%
• Sentara Healthcare, Sentara Careplex Hospital, Hampton - Top 5%
• Sentara Healthcare, Sentara Leigh Hospital, Norfolk - Top 5%
• Sentara Healthcare, Sentara Obici Hospital, Suffolk - Top 5%
• Sentara Healthcare, Sentara Princess Anne Hospital Virginia Beach - Top 5%
• Sentara Healthcare, Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center, Williamsburg - Top 5%

In addition, Chippenham Hospital, Inova Alexandria Hospital and Inova Fair Oaks Hospital were among the 250 Best Overall hospitals in patient safety.

The hospitals in Virginia that were among those recognized on the 2024 Patient Experience List included:

• Buchanan General Hospital: Grundy - Top 5%
• Inova Fair Oaks Hospital: Fairfax - Top 15%
• Inova Fairfax Hospital: Falls Church - Top 10%
• Inova Loudoun Hospital: Leesburg- Top 10%
• Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital: Onancock - Top 1o%
• Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital: Charlottesville- Top 15%
• Sentara Princess Anne Hospital: Virginia Beach - Top 15%
• Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center: Williamsburg - Top 15%
• UVA Health University Hospital: Charlottesville - Top 15%
• Winchester Medical Center: Winchester - Top 15%

In addition, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital, Inova Fairfax Hospital, and Inova Loudoun Hospital were ranked among the 250 Best Overall in patient experience in the U.S.

Only three Virginia hospitals were dual award recipients. Inova Fair Oaks Hospital, Sentara Princess Anne Hospital and Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center won awards in both patient safety and experience.

Inova Fair Oaks Hospital was also the only "triple crown" hospital, winning America's 250 Best Overall, Patient Safety Excellence Award and Outstanding Patient Experience Award 2024.

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.