Sycamore Shoals Hospital was for the second consecutive year the recipient of two elite healthcare awards by Healthgrades: 2016 Outstanding Patient Experience Award and 2016 Patient Safety Excellence Award. These awards place the hospital among the top 10 percent in the nation for patient safety and in the top 15 percent for patient experience.

“It is an honor to receive these awards for patient safety and experience for the second year in a row,” said Corey Paulson, director of marketing and communications for the hospital. “It is more about Sycamore Shoals being recognized for what we have always been committed to — patient-centered care — than about us making changes over the last couple of years.”

Healthgrades also recognized Sycamore Shoals among America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Gastrointestinal Care and awarded it the Pulmonary Care Excellence Award. According to Healthgrades, patients who receive treatment or undergo surgery in these areas have a decreased risk of dying or experiencing complications during their hospital stay.

Healthgrades, accessed by more than one million people daily, is the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. Each year, it awards hospitals in various categories based on a variety of factors and reviews. A press release from Healthgrades stated the patient safety and experience ratings were based on the occurrence of observed incidents, as well as on patient surveys submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Reviews from residents of Carter County and the surrounding area led to the hospital’s national recognition, and Paulson said this is the effect of the hospital and its staff continuing to maintain the same standard of excellence year after year.

“Our team here at Sycamore Shoals Hospital is very experienced and passionate about our patients, and the patients and their families are noticing,” Paulson said. “These awards are based on both clinical outcomes and patient feedback, so the thanks goes to both our team and the patients themselves.”

In 2016, 466 hospitals in the nation received the Patient Safety Excellence Award, and 448 received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award.

Patient safety measures prevention of injuries and infections. The Healthgrades report identified four areas that comprise nearly 75 percent of all patient safety events: accidental cut, puncture or hemorrhage; collapsed lung; infections and bed sores. It also found that hospitals which are recognized as top performers in prevention of these adverse events continuously monitor what patients find important in a stay at the hospital.

“Sycamore Shoals Hospital was the only hospital at Mountain States to receive both awards this year and one of only about 100 in the nation,” said Paulson. “I think this should tell our community that their local hospital is special and that they can expect the care that they receive here to exceed their expectations.”