Rockledge, Florida (March 15, 2022) – Rockledge Regional Medical Center has been recognized by Healthgrades as a 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipient. This distinction places Rockledge Regional Medical Center among the top 5% of all short-term acute care hospitals as evaluated by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting patients and providers.

“For Rockledge Regional Medical Center to be recognized as one of America’s best hospitals, two times in the past four years, is a major success and confirms that each day our highly qualified physicians, nurses, clinical team and staff provide the highest quality of care to our patients and the communities we proudly serve,” said Chief Administrative Officer Tom Bowden. ““We believe in providing high-quality care and services in every interaction while we focus on what matters most to each person.”

During the study period (2018 through 2020), 170,231 potentially preventable patient safety events occurred among Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals.* Healthgrades found that just four patient safety indicators accounted for 74% of all patient safety events: hip fracture due to an in-hospital fall, collapsed lung resulting from a procedure/surgery, pressure or bed sores acquired in-hospital, and catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in-hospital. Healthgrades also found that patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ were, on average:

• 55.8% less likely to experience an in-hospital fall resulting in hip fracture, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 52.6% less likely to experience a collapsed lung resulting from a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 66.2% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals*
• 65.8% less likely to experience catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at nonrecipient hospitals*

When it comes to choosing healthcare, quality saves lives, which is why Healthgrades is committed to delivering the most scientifically accurate and comprehensive information about doctors and hospitals — with data insights not available anywhere else. To that end, it's important for consumers to know that if all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to the Healthgrades Patient Safety Award Recipients, on average, 100,189 patient safety events could have been avoided.* 

“Through our 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Awards, we seek to recognize hospitals that excel in providing top-quality care for their patients while preventing serious injuries during hospital stays,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and head of Data Science, Healthgrades. “We are proud to name Rockledge Regional Medical Center as a 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient and look forward to their continued efforts to make patient safety a priority.”

Consumers can visit healthgrades.com for more information on how Healthgrades measures hospital quality and access the complete methodology here.

*Statistics are calculated from Healthgrades Patient Safety Ratings and Excellence Award™ methodology which is based primarily on AHRQ technical specifications (Version 2021.0.1) for MedPAR data years 2018 through 2020 and represent 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only.

About Steward Health Care – Rockledge & Melbourne

The Mission of Rockledge Regional Medical Center and Melbourne Regional Medical Center is to provide the highest quality health care with compassion and respect. Both hospitals are full acute care hospitals and includes a network of affiliates providing rehabilitation services, wound care, laboratory services and pain management. For more information on, visit: RockledgeRegional.org and MelbourneRegional.org.

About Steward Health Care System:

Nearly a decade ago, Steward Health Care System emerged as a different kind of health care company designed to usher in a new era of wellness. One that provides our patients better, more proactive care at a sustainable cost, our providers unrivaled coordination of care, and our communities greater prosperity and stability.

As the country’s largest physician-led, tax paying, integrated health care system, our doctors can be certain that we share their interests and those of their patients. Together we are on a mission to revolutionize the way health care is delivered - creating healthier lives, thriving communities and a better world.

Steward is among the nation’s largest and most successful accountable care organizations (ACO), with more than 5,500 providers and 43,000 health care professionals who care for 12.3 million patients a year through a closely integrated network of hospitals, multispecialty medical groups, urgent care centers, skilled nursing facilities and behavioral health centers. 

Based in Dallas, Steward currently operates 39 hospitals across Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah.

For more information, visit www.steward.org.