Parrish Medical Center Among Safest Hospitals in U.S.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Lowest Rates of Serious Blood Clots After Surgery

Parrish Medical Center is among the top 49 U.S. hospitals with the lowest rates of serious blood clots after surgery, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data.

The top hospitals' list was published by Becker's Hospital Review (http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/lists/49-hospitals-with-the-lowest-postoperative-blood-clot-rates.html) using information found on CMS's website, www.hospitalcompare.com.

The serious blood clot rate is based on an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety indicators that involve postoperative pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis rates. Parrish Medical Center’s rate is 1.69 as compared to the national rate of 4.71. The rate is the number of postoperative serious blood clots per 1,000 surgical discharges from July 2009 through June 2011.

Blood clots can form if you do not move around a lot, such as being confined to a chair or bed for a long period of time or after surgery. A blood clot in the lung is called a pulmonary embolism. A deep vein thrombosis is when a clot forms in a vein deep within the body, often in a leg.

“Post-surgery blood clots can be quite dangerous because they can lead to difficulty breathing, heart attack, and worst-case death,” said Parrish Medical Center Director, Perioperative Services Matthew Graybill, RN. “While older people are more susceptible, they can occur to anyone of any age.

“We apply evidence-based best practices and continuous improvement principles to everything we do at Parrish Medical Center which results in quality and patient safety,” Graybill said.

Among the actions Parrish Medical Center takes to reduce the risk of post-surgery blood clots are the use of elastic stockings, compression devices, and anticoagulants (blood thinning medicine). In addition, PMC provides patients and their care givers comprehensive and interactive education about what to expect before, during and after surgery. PMC’s exclusive, web-based patient education platform (called EMMI®) is easy to understand animated programs viewed by patients and shared with family.

In recently released CMS data, Parrish Medical Center was listed in the top six percent of 2,985 U.S. hospitals and Central Florida’s No. 1 hospital in areas of clinical care, a patient’s experience in the hospital, and low cost.

Surgical care – which includes prevention of post-surgery blood clots – is among the clinical components CMS uses in compiling its national hospital compare data that affects all hospital patients regardless of whether they are on Medicare or Medicaid.

“This information is being compiled by CMS to challenge hospitals to provide the highest quality care and to put information in the hands of health care consumers that helps them decide where to go to receive the best care,” said George Mikitarian, PMC president and chief executive officer. “The data consistently shows that Parrish Medical Center is in the top tier of American hospitals, which is a tribute to our hospital’s team of care partners who work so hard for the people we serve.”

WFTV