Tulane Health System hospitals earn awards for patient care, safety

As the greater New Orleans region begins its recovery from the recent COVID-19 outbreak, a pair of Tulane Health System hospitals have earned accolades for outstanding patient care and safety results.

Tulane Medical Center has again been named a World's Best Hospital by Newsweek in its 2020 listing of the top medical facilities across the globe. Of the hundreds of hospitals spanning 21 countries listed in the report, Tulane Medical Center is one of just 281 "World's Best Hospitals" found in the United States and the only hospital in southern Louisiana on the list.

Additionally, Lakeside Hospital was awarded a fourth-straight "A" in the The Leapfrog Group's Spring 2020 Hospital Safety Grade. The designation recognizes Tulane Lakeside's continued efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States.

"Patient safety is always the most important aspect of hospital care," said Dr. Robert Lynch, Tulane Health System's CEO. "But now more than ever, patients and families want to know that their hospital is a safe, healing environment for both COVID-19 patients and those with other healthcare needs.

"We've worked hard to put measures in place to keep our patients and staff safe. I am grateful for these recognitions - and more importantly what they mean for our patients and community. We know our community has pressing health needs, and there is no safer place to receive that care than Tulane Health System."

The Newsweek rankings are based on a combination of publically-reported quality and patient satisfaction data as well as reputation surveys sent to tens of thousands of physicians, nurses and other medical professionals. Based on these composite rankings, Newsweek ranked Tulane Medical Center No. 204 out of more than 3,800 hospitals nationwide.

"Not only are we in the company of facilities like Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic - two other American hospitals noted in the report - we join Singapore General Hospital, which leads global clinical research efforts, and the Charité hospital in Berlin, which employs more than half of Germany's Nobel Prize winners in physiology and medicine," Dr. Lynch said, "we are part of a global effort to combat COVID-19, both in local patient care and in research efforts through our partners at Tulane University School of Medicine."

The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.

"Patients and families trust that when they seek care at Tulane, they are going to get better, not worse," said Dr. Brandon Mauldin, Tulane Health System's chief medical officer. "We work tirelessly to create an environment of care in which patient safety is paramount. I'm proud that this work has been recognized."

Tulane Health System has implemented several measures to ensure the safety of its patients and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, including:

• Screening for all patients, visitors and staff before entering facilities.
• Rapid testing for COVID-19, so symptomatic patients know within minutes if they are positive and can be appropriately isolated and treated.
• Socially distant waiting areas with hygiene stations.
• Separate areas and staff for non-COVID-19 positive patients, as well as outpatient and patients with scheduled procedures. These patients are treated in separate areas and assigned caregivers who are not caring for COVID-19 positive patients during their shift.
• All caregivers wear masks throughout the hospital, per CDC guidelines.
• Heightened infection prevention policies, including the removal of high-touch items such as magazines and toys.

This is the fourth-consecutive "A" safety rating earned by Tulane Lakeside. Tulane Medical Center in maintained its "B" safety rating with Leapfrog Group. This is the second-consecutive year it has earned a World's Best Hospital designation.

To learn more about Tulane Health System and its world-class services, please visit Tulane Healthcare.