St. Luke's Patients Medical Center
Learn how to use the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade
- Infections
- Problems with Surgery
- Practices to Prevent Errors
- Safety Problems
- Doctors, Nurses & Hospital Staff
Above Average
This Hospital's Score:
0.975
Best Hospital's Score:
0.000
Average Hospital's Score:
0.881
Worst Hospital's Score:
3.352
MRSA infection
Staph bacteria are common in hospitals, but Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to (cannot be killed by) many antibiotics. MRSA can be found in bed linens or medical equipment and can be spread if providers do not properly wash their hands between patients. MRSA can cause life-threatening bloodstream infections, pneumonia and surgical site infections.
This number represents a comparison of the number of infections that actually happened at this hospital to the number of infections expected for this hospital, given the number of patients they care for on a daily basis and how widespread MRSA infection is in their local community. A number lower than one means fewer infections than expected; a number more than one means more infections than expected. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Doctors and nurses should clean their hands after caring for every patient. Hospital rooms and medical equipment should be thoroughly cleaned often. Safer hospitals will also keep MRSA patients separate from other patients and require providers and visitors to wear gloves and gowns around these patients.This Hospital's Score:
1.825
Best Hospital's Score:
0.000
Average Hospital's Score:
0.751
Worst Hospital's Score:
1.940
C. diff infection
Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is a bacterium that can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and fever. Most C. diff cases occur in patients taking or having recently taken antibiotics, and fully killing the bacteria in an infected patient can be very difficult. C. diff can spread via contaminated equipment or by providers who fail to properly wash their hands between patients.
This number represents a comparison of the number of infections that actually happened at this hospital to the number of infections expected for this hospital, given the number of patients they care for on a daily basis and how widespread C. diff infection is in their local community. A number lower than one means fewer infections than expected; a number more than one means more infections than expected. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Doctors and nurses should clean their hands after caring for every patient. Hospital rooms and medical equipment should be thoroughly cleaned often. Safer hospitals will also keep C. diff patients separate from other patients, and require providers and visitors to wear gloves and gowns around these patients.This Hospital's Score:
2.025
Best Hospital's Score:
0.000
Average Hospital's Score:
0.765
Worst Hospital's Score:
2.943
Infection in the blood
If a patient is in the hospital, he or she may be given a central line (a tube inserted into the body to deliver medication and other treatments). Patients with a central line are at high risk for developing a dangerous infection in the blood. These serious infections can lead to other complications, increase recovery time, and can often lead to death.
This number represents a comparison of the number of central line-associated infections in the blood that actually happened at this hospital to the number of infections expected for this hospital, given the number of central lines used and other factors like facility type and size. A number lower than one means fewer infections than expected; a number more than one means more infections than expected. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospital staff follows special guidelines when inserting central lines, often including a checklist of steps to follow. They properly maintain a patient’s central line to prevent infection.This Hospital's Score:
1.362
Best Hospital's Score:
0.000
Average Hospital's Score:
0.831
Worst Hospital's Score:
3.010
Infection in the urinary tract
If a patient is in the hospital, he or she may require a urinary catheter. Patients with catheters are at risk for developing a dangerous infection in the urinary tract. These serious infections can lead to other complications, increase recovery time, and can often lead to death.
This number represents a comparison of the number of catheter-associated infections in the urinary tract that actually happened at this hospital to the number of infections expected for this hospital, given the number of catheters used and other factors like facility type and size. A number lower than one means fewer infections than expected; a number more than one means more infections than expected. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospital staff regularly clean and maintain urinary catheters to prevent infection. They also know when and how to safely remove a catheter.This Hospital's Score:
1.222
Best Hospital's Score:
0.000
Average Hospital's Score:
0.860
Worst Hospital's Score:
3.067
Surgical site infection after colon surgery
This infection happens after surgery in the part of the colon where the surgery took place. These infections can be very serious, and may spread throughout the body. A patient with this type of infection often faces a long recovery in the ICU. Some people even die from the infection.
This number represents a comparison of the number of infections after colon surgery that actually happened at this hospital to the number of infections expected for this hospital, given the types of patients they care for and other factors like a patient’s age and type of surgery. A number lower than one means fewer infections than expected; a number more than one means more infections than expected. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
The hospital team uses appropriate antibiotics before surgery, cleans the skin with a special soap that kills germs, and closely watches patients during and after major colon surgeries.
This Hospital's Score:
0.000
Best Hospital's Score:
0.000
Average Hospital's Score:
0.021
Worst Hospital's Score:
0.357
Dangerous object left in patient’s body
A surgeon can accidentally leave an object inside a patient’s body during surgery. Most times the object is a surgical sponge, which can quickly get infected. This problem doesn’t happen often, but if it does happen it can be extremely dangerous. Many patients become severely ill, disabled, or even die.
This number represents the number of times dangerous objects were left inside patients for every 1,000 people discharged. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
The hospital team follows a strict procedure to count sponges and tools in the operating room. The hospital may use an electronic scanning system where each object is scanned before and after surgery to ensure they haven’t left any objects inside the patient.This Hospital's Score:
0.80
Best Hospital's Score:
0.32
Average Hospital's Score:
0.85
Worst Hospital's Score:
1.90
Surgical wound splits open
After a major surgery on the stomach or abdomen area, the healthcare team must be careful to make sure that the surgical stitches don’t break open. This could leave the wound exposed. A surgical wound splitting open is very painful and puts the patient at risk for infection.
This number represents the number of times surgical wounds in the stomach or abdomen area split open for every 1,000 people who had surgery on their abdomen. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Doctors and nurses monitor surgical wounds to make sure they are healing and that the stitches are still in place. The staff also counsels patients on avoiding heavy lifting or intense physical activity after surgery.This Hospital's Score:
Not Available
Best Hospital's Score:
96.82
Average Hospital's Score:
161.64
Worst Hospital's Score:
204.76
Death from treatable serious complications
Sometimes after surgery, patients can develop serious complications while they are in the hospital. They might catch pneumonia, have a heart attack, or lose function in their kidneys or liver. These problems are serious but can be treated by a good hospital team. If the hospital doesn’t manage the patient’s complications correctly, the patient could die.
This number represents the number of surgical patients that died for every 1,000 people who had a serious treatable complication after surgery. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
The staff communicates well to quickly identify if there is a serious complication after surgery. They are ready to take action with an aggressive plan using patient safety guidelines.This Hospital's Score:
0.26
Best Hospital's Score:
0.11
Average Hospital's Score:
0.29
Worst Hospital's Score:
0.47
Collapsed lung
A collapsed lung is when air leaks out of the lung and goes into the area between the lungs and the chest wall. It can happen when a doctor or nurse is inserting a catheter, a feeding tube, or even a pacemaker. This kind of lung injury can be serious and can cause severe chest pain and other complications.
This number represents the number of times patients experienced collapsed lungs for every 1,000 people discharged. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospital staff is well-trained on how to insert and remove tubes from the chest area so that the patient’s lungs do not collapse.This Hospital's Score:
8.49
Best Hospital's Score:
1.71
Average Hospital's Score:
8.22
Worst Hospital's Score:
17.91
Serious breathing problem
After surgery some patients can develop a serious breathing problem. Their lungs either cannot take in enough oxygen or cannot get rid of carbon dioxide. Without immediate care, the patient can lose consciousness, fall into a coma, or even die.
This number represents the number of times patients experienced serious breathing problems for every 1,000 people who had surgery. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Doctors and nurses watch carefully for symptoms like shortness of breath so they can prevent serious breathing problems.This Hospital's Score:
4.10
Best Hospital's Score:
1.21
Average Hospital's Score:
3.84
Worst Hospital's Score:
7.32
Dangerous blood clot
A blood clot is a gathering of blood cells in a vein, which can be caused by damage to tissue during surgery. Most blood clots form in the leg but the clot can break away and travel through the bloodstream to other areas of the body. If the clot travels to the lungs and gets stuck, it can prevent oxygen from getting into the blood. This can lead to chest pain, unconsciousness, and even death.
This number represents the number of times patients experienced dangerous blood clots for every 1,000 people who had surgery. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Doctors use compression devices to apply pressure to areas of the body where a blood clot might form. They also give patients blood thinners and closely watch patients that might be at risk to prevent dangerous blot clots. It also helps to get patients out of bed and walking around as soon as possible after surgery.This Hospital's Score:
1.41
Best Hospital's Score:
0.57
Average Hospital's Score:
1.29
Worst Hospital's Score:
2.15
Accidental cuts and tears
For procedures of the abdomen and pelvis, there is a chance that the patient will suffer an accidental cut or tear of their skin or other tissue. This problem can happen during surgery or a procedure where doctors use a tube to look into a patient’s body.
This number represents the number of times patients experienced accidental cuts and tears in the abdominal or pelvic region during a procedure for every 1,000 people discharged. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospital staff is careful when using scalpels, knives, and other surgical tools so that they don’t accidentally cut or tear the patient’s skin and tissues.This Hospital's Score:
40
Best Hospital's Score:
100
Average Hospital's Score:
74.03
Worst Hospital's Score:
5
Doctors order medications through a computer
Hospitals can use Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) systems to order medications for patients in the hospital, instead of writing out prescriptions by hand. Good CPOE systems alert the doctor if they try to order a medication that could cause harm, such as prescribing an adult dosage for a child. CPOE systems help to reduce medication errors in the hospital.
Hospitals can earn up to 100 points for using a well-functioning CPOE system in most areas of the hospital. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospitals use CPOE systems in all areas of the hospital and regularly test those systems to ensure they are alerting doctors to potential ordering errors.This Hospital's Score:
25
Best Hospital's Score:
100
Average Hospital's Score:
71.28
Worst Hospital's Score:
5
Safe medication administration
Using barcodes on medications, nurses can scan the medication and then the patient’s ID bracelet to make sure the patient is receiving the right medications. If the bar codes do not match, this signals there is an error, giving nurses and doctors the chance to confirm they have the right patient, right medication, and right dose. Bar code medication administration (BCMA) systems are proven to reduce the risk that a hospital accidentally gives the wrong medication to a patient.
Hospitals earn up to 100 points for using a well-functioning bar coding system for all medication orders, and making sure it is used properly to keep patients safe. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
When hospitals use bar coding technology effectively for all orders, medication errors happen far less frequently.This Hospital's Score:
60.00
Best Hospital's Score:
60.00
Average Hospital's Score:
58.03
Worst Hospital's Score:
6.00
Handwashing
Healthcare workers can help stop infection and illness by carefully cleaning their hands. When hospital staff does not carefully wash their hands, they can spread germs from one patient to another and cause someone to become seriously ill.
Hospitals can earn up to 60 points for having a handwashing policy and evaluating how hospital workers follow that policy. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospitals provide training and implement policies to make sure that all hospital staff cleans their hands before touching a patient.This Hospital's Score:
79
Best Hospital's Score:
90
Average Hospital's Score:
78.01
Worst Hospital's Score:
62
Communication about medicines
Patients’ perspectives of care are an important part of patient safety. The Communication about Medicines measure reflects patients’ feedback on how often hospital staff explained the purpose of any new medicine and what side effects that medicine might have. Effective communication about medicine prevents misunderstandings that could lead to serious problems for a patient.
Based on a scale of zero-100, this number represents a comparison of patients’ perspectives of how effectively this hospital communicated with patients about their medications relative to patients’ perspectives of how effectively other hospitals communicated with their patients. Higher scores indicate more effective communication than lower scores. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospitals that score well on this measure take time to speak with every patient to ensure that the patient understands the purpose of any new medication they are given, how to take the medication, and the risk of any possible side effects.This Hospital's Score:
86
Best Hospital's Score:
94
Average Hospital's Score:
86.71
Worst Hospital's Score:
71
Communication about discharge
Patients’ perspectives of care are an important part of patient safety. The Communication about Discharge measure summarizes how well the hospital staff communicated with patients about the help they would need at home after leaving the hospital. The measure also summarizes how often patients reported that they were given written information about symptoms or health problems to watch for during their recovery. Educating patients on the steps they need to take during their recovery at home reduces the chances that a patient will need to be readmitted to the hospital.
Based on a scale of zero-100, this number represents a comparison of patients’ perspectives of how effectively this hospital communicated with patients about the help they would need after discharge relative to patients’ perspectives of how effectively other hospitals communicated with their patients. Higher scores indicate more effective communication than lower scores. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospitals that score well on this measure take time with every patient to clarify the patient’s responsibilities during her recovery at home, clarify the responsibilities of caregivers at home, and educate the patient on any symptoms that could point to problems in the recovery process.This Hospital's Score:
120.00
Best Hospital's Score:
120.00
Average Hospital's Score:
115.73
Worst Hospital's Score:
0.00
Staff work together to prevent errors
A hospital that has a strong culture of safety has a well-functioning team with good leaders who catch errors before they can harm a patient. Patients are less likely to experience mistakes if hospital staff works together. Staff should also be comfortable speaking up when they sense an error might happen.
Hospitals can earn up to 120 points for measuring culture of safety, providing feedback to staff, and creating new plans to prevent errors. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospitals regularly survey their physicians, nurses, and other staff on the culture of safety to measure how well staff works together to keep patients safe. Then, hospitals provide feedback on the results to leaders and hospital staff and create plans to improve.This Hospital's Score:
0.15
Best Hospital's Score:
0.02
Average Hospital's Score:
0.38
Worst Hospital's Score:
1.91
Dangerous bed sores
A bed sore is a sore or wound on the skin that forms when a patient lays or sits in one position for too long without being moved. Advanced bedsores (also known as stage 3 or 4 pressure ulcers) can become large and very deep. They can reach a muscle or bone and cause severe pain and serious infection. This can lead to longer hospital stays, amputation, or even death.
This number represents the number of times patients experienced dangerous bed sores for every 1,000 people discharged. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
When working with a patient who cannot move much on their own, hospital staff moves the patient regularly and checks for bed sores. They also use cushioning to protect bony areas and immediately take steps to treat existing sores.This Hospital's Score:
0.913
Best Hospital's Score:
0.000
Average Hospital's Score:
0.435
Worst Hospital's Score:
1.747
Patient falls and injuries
One common problem that patients face in the hospital is a serious injury or death resulting from a fall or other kind of trauma. Falls can happen when patients who really can’t walk on their own try getting out of bed, often to go to the restroom. Patient falls increase time in the hospital, require additional care, and can result in permanent disability.
This number represents the number of times patients experienced falls or other types of trauma for every 1,000 people discharged. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospital staff assist patients when they want to get up to use the restroom or move around the hospital. Leadership and staff make sure that the hospital environment is clear of hazards that could cause a fall or other trauma. Patient beds may be equipped with alarms to alert staff if a patient who is at risk of falls tries to get out of bed on his or her own. Hospital staff responds quickly to these alarms if they go off.This Hospital's Score:
0.000
Best Hospital's Score:
0.000
Average Hospital's Score:
0.001
Worst Hospital's Score:
0.045
Air or gas bubble in the blood
An air or gas bubble (air embolism) stops blood from flowing through the body. This serious mistake can happen during surgery or other procedures, like getting an injection. If blood flow is blocked, a patient can suffer a stroke or die.
This number represents the number of times patients had an air or gas bubble in the blood for every 1,000 people discharged. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Staff is careful when inserting or removing a tube from a major vein to guard against air or gas getting into a patient’s bloodstream. All staff is trained to safely put in and take out catheters and other tubes. The hospital encourages staff to work as a team and closely watch patients during and after surgery to quickly detect an air embolism if it does happen.This Hospital's Score:
100.00
Best Hospital's Score:
100.00
Average Hospital's Score:
97.24
Worst Hospital's Score:
27.27
Track and reduce risks to patients
Hospitals should be aware of all potential errors that could harm patients. Hospital leaders should evaluate their hospital’s record of past errors to prevent the same error from happening again. If all hospital staff is aware of safety risks, they can work together and take all possible action to prevent harm.
Hospitals can earn up to 100 points for having processes in place for tracking and reducing risks to patients and educating staff on identifying risks and hazards. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospital leaders regularly assess areas of the hospital where an error has occurred or could occur and provide training to staff on how to prevent common errors.This Hospital's Score:
120.00
Best Hospital's Score:
120.00
Average Hospital's Score:
117.46
Worst Hospital's Score:
36.92
Effective leadership to prevent errors
Errors are much more common if hospital leaders don’t make patient safety a priority. Leaders must make sure that all hospital staff knows what they need to work on and that they are held accountable for improvements. The hospital should also budget money towards improving safety.
Hospitals can earn up to 120 points for having leadership structures that increase awareness of patient safety issues and holding leadership accountable for improvements. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospital leaders are aware of the hospital’s patient safety problems, work with hospital staff to fix them, and share their efforts with the larger community. Leaders also make it a priority to learn about and use the best methods to prevent errors and are held accountable for identifying and reducing unsafe practices.This Hospital's Score:
100.00
Best Hospital's Score:
100.00
Average Hospital's Score:
97.66
Worst Hospital's Score:
0.00
Enough qualified nurses
Patients receive most of their care from nurses, not doctors. When hospitals don’t have enough nurses or the nurses don’t have the right training, patients face a much greater risk of harm. Without enough qualified nurses, patients might face more complications, longer hospital stays, and even death.
Hospitals can earn up to 100 points for evaluating nurse staffing levels and their relationship to adverse events, holding leadership accountable for adequate and competent nurse staffing levels, providing staff education, and developing implementation plans for effective nurse staffing levels. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospitals hire enough nurses to care for all of the patients. They also ensure that those nurses have the right training to provide safe care for their patients.This Hospital's Score:
5
Best Hospital's Score:
100
Average Hospital's Score:
52.66
Worst Hospital's Score:
5
Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients
A critical care unit or Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a special part of the hospital that provides care for extremely ill patients. Hospitals should have special doctors called intensivists working in the ICU. Intensivists are physicians with advanced training in intensive or critical care. They learn to manage problems in the ICU and help to reduce errors. There are higher death rates in hospitals where ICU patients are not cared for by intensivists.
Hospitals can earn up to 100 points for staffing their ICUs with intensivists. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospitals staff ICUs with physicians who have training in critical care medicine.This Hospital's Score:
91
Best Hospital's Score:
96
Average Hospital's Score:
90.88
Worst Hospital's Score:
80
Communication with doctors
Patients’ perspectives of care are an important part of patient safety. The Communication with Doctors measure summarizes how well patients feel their doctors explained things clearly, listened carefully to them, and treated them with courtesy and respect. Effective communication between doctors and patients can be reassuring to patients and can help prevent errors like medication mix-ups or misdiagnoses.
Based on a scale of zero-100, this number represents a comparison of patients’ perspectives of how effectively physicians at this hospital communicated with patients relative to patients’ perspectives of how effectively physicians at other hospitals communicated with their patients. Higher scores indicate more effective communication than lower scores. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospitals that score well on this measure encourage their doctors to take time with every patient to communicate effectively by listening well, answering questions, treating patients with courtesy and respect, and explaining diagnoses and treatment plans in ways that patients understand.This Hospital's Score:
92
Best Hospital's Score:
96
Average Hospital's Score:
90.82
Worst Hospital's Score:
75
Communication with nurses
Patients’ perspectives of care are an important part of patient safety. The Communication with Nurses measure summarizes how well patients feel that their nurses explained things clearly, listened carefully to them, and treated them with courtesy and respect. Effective communication between nurses and patients can be reassuring to patients and can prevent errors like medication mix-ups or misdiagnoses.
Based on a scale of zero-100, this number represents a comparison of patients’ perspectives of how effectively nurses at this hospital communicated with patients relative to patients’ perspectives of how effectively nurses at other hospitals communicated with their patients. Higher scores indicate more effective communication than lower scores. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospitals that score well on this measure encourage their nurses to take time with every patient to communicate effectively by listening well, answering questions, treating patients with courtesy and respect, and explaining diagnosis and treatment plans in ways that patients understand.This Hospital's Score:
88
Best Hospital's Score:
94
Average Hospital's Score:
84.31
Worst Hospital's Score:
60
Responsiveness of hospital staff
Patients’ perspectives of care are an important part of patient safety. The Responsiveness of Hospital Staff measure looks at patients’ feedback on how long it takes for a staff member to respond when they request help. If a patient is in pain, experiencing new symptoms, or cannot reach the bathroom himself, it is important that hospital staff respond quickly to address the situation.
Based on a scale of zero-100, this number represents a comparison of patients’ perspectives of how quickly the staff at this hospital typically responds to patients’ requests for help relative to patients’ perspectives of how quickly the staff at other hospitals typically respond to their patients’ requests. Higher scores indicate a faster response time than lower scores. Timing of the data.
What safer hospitals do:
Hospitals that score well on this measure are well-staffed and have systems in place to make sure that all patients receive the care they need quickly.Notes and Definitions
1. Declined to Report: The hospital was asked to provide this information to the public, but did not.
2. Not Available: “Not Available” means that the hospital does not have data for this measure. This could be because the measure is related to a service the hospital does not provide. For example, a hospital that does not have an ICU would not be able to report data about ICUs. It could also be because the hospital had too few patients or cases to report data for a particular condition or procedure. A “Not Available” result does not mean that the hospital withheld information from the public.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade scores hospitals on their overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors. The grades are derived from expert analysis of publicly available data using 28 evidence-based, national measures of hospital safety. No specific representation is made, nor shall be implied, nor shall The Leapfrog Group be liable with respect to any individual patient’s potential or actual outcome as a result of receiving services performed at any of these hospitals. Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades cannot be republished without expressed written permission from The Leapfrog Group.
