A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services shows that hospital stays are safer now than they were four years ago. Since 2010, 50,000 hospital deaths have been prevented nationwide, a savings of $12 billion in health care costs. Patients are now at a lower risk for getting infections, being administered a drug incorrectly or being harmed during their hospital stay. The report also showed that hospital-acquired conditions were reduced by 1.3 million between 2010 and 2013.
Hospitals are finding innovative solutions to protect patients and their families. Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital strives to provide the highest quality care to every patient in the Ravalli County area. Partnering with Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, the Medicare quality innovation network-quality improvement organization (QIN-QIO) for Montana under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital actively participates in local and national health care quality initiatives. These initiatives include reducing hospital readmission rates, reducing adverse drug events and preventing healthcare-associated infections.
Mira McMasters, Director of Quality Improvement, stated, “We work amongst all of the staff to achieve quality for each patient. It is a great accomplishment and an honor for the Inpatient Team, including the Hospitalists to receive this award. This type of award reflects teamwork and demonstrates that changes in processes can result in improved outcomes. We continuously review the results and procedures and look for ways to do things better, with the goal of achieving great Quality results. This is exciting and we will continue striving for ever greater results.”
Though patient care is improving, there is still work to be done. Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital is dedicated to continuing this trend of safer patient care.
For more information regarding what Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital is doing to improve patient care, contact Mira McMasters, Director of Quality Improvement at 375-4511 or email mmcmasters@mdmh.org.