AARP The Magazine Highlights America’s Safest Hospitals

Inova Loudoun Hospital Makes List as Safety Superstar

Leesburg, VA – (May 7, 2013) – AARP The Magazine has teamed up with The Leapfrog Group, which rates hospitals on safety and resource use, to create a list of America’s Safest Hospitals.  Inova Loudoun Hospital is featured on the list as a “safety superstars”.  Inova Loudoun is one of five hospitals in Virginia and one of 66 nationwide included on the list. Inova Fair Oaks Hospital also made the list.      The April/May issue, in-homes and online now, showcases these “safety superstars” in the magazine’s first ever “Health” issue. The article, “Lessons From America’s Safest Hospitals,” showcases ways hospitals are preventing errors.

Inova Loudoun Hospital was highlighted for:

• Physicians and staff focus on the quality of the care provided and making the safety of patients the highest priority.
• National leader in the prevention of falls and other safety events.
• Magnet certified for nursing care and has consistently demonstrated that attracting and retaining the best nurses directly supports the safest patient care environment
• Implementing a new, fully computerized medical record system including electronic physician order entry, automatic alerts that warn of potential drug and other procedure issues.
• In the Intensive Care Unit, specially trained intensivist physicians available 24/7 backed up by and electronic system (eICU) allowing doctors to monitor patients continuously, review chart notes, monitor prescriptions, ensuring that patients get appropriate treatments when needed.
• Restricted visiting hours during flu season to reduce patient exposure to people coming into hospital.
• Crew Resource Management (CRM) training for nurses and physicians in an effort to build effective teams.  Adheres to national guidelines for the use of checklists and preventing infections and in the operating room.

“We are committed to providing safe and reliable care at Inova Loudoun Hospital,” said H. Patrick Walters, CEO, Inova Loudoun Hospital. “Being recognized as a Safety Superstar is evidence that our best practices are working.  In an effort to be accountable to those we serve we implemented the Compact with the Community last year. ”

To learn more about the Inova’s Compact with the Community visit www.inova.org/ilh and scroll down to “Our Quality Commitment”.
The complete list of hospital safety standouts can be found online at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

Media Contact: Reneé Brohard, APR, 540-454-3493
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About AARP The Magazine
With nearly 33 million readers, AARP The Magazine is the world’s largest circulation magazine and the definitive lifestyle publication for Americans 50+. AARP The Magazine delivers comprehensive content through health and fitness features, financial guidance, consumer interest information and tips, celebrity interviews, and book and movie reviews. AARP The Magazine was founded in 1958 and is published bimonthly in print and continually online. Learn more at www.aarpmagazine.org.

Inova Loudoun Hospital, serving Loudoun County for over 100 years, is part of the Inova Health System; a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes.  Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research. Visit us on the web at www.inova.org/ilh.