Aventura Hospital Safety Report

Aventura Hospital and Medical Center of Aventura, Florida, is part of Nashville-based Hospital Corporation of America, one of the first hospital companies in the nation.The general medical and surgical hospital was founded in 1965 and moved to its present location in 1974. It includes a 407-bed acute care facility and offers both outpatient and inpatient surgical, medical, cancer and diagnostic services. The hospital employs approximately 432 full-time registered nurses and holds accreditation from the Joint Commission on DNV Healthcare.

The hospital recently invested $130 million in expansion and renovation. A new North Patient Tower includes 243 rooms with their own bathrooms along with new patient care equipment, a Surgical Services Suite with 10 new operating rooms, a new Main Entrance, an Emergency Department that includes 28 beds, and two new intensive-care units.

As part of an initiative for hospitals that are part of HCA East Florida, Aventura Hospital and Medical Center has embarked on an effort to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors. Current areas of focus include prevention of blood clots in patients’ legs following surgery, improving response times for emergency care and improving staff training.

General Safety & Ranking – Score of 50/100

U.S. News & World Report does not rank Aventura Hospital and Medical Center in any of the following specialties:

•  Cancer
•  Diabetes and endocrinology
•  Ear, nose and throat
•  Gastroenterology and GI surgery
•  Gynecology
•  Nephrology
•  Neurology and neurosurgery
•  Orthopedics
•  Pulmonology
•  Urology

However, the publication rates the hospital as average for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); and below average for heart bypass surgery, heart failure, hip replacement and knee replacement.

The hospital has received a safety score of 50 out of a possible 100 from Consumer Reports. The score is based on five key metrics for patient safety: complications, communication, readmissions, infections and overuse of CT scans.

Above Average Ratings — General

Received best ratings for double abdominal scans and double chest scans

• 91% of patients: Doctors usually or always communicated well
• 55% above the national average for avoiding surgical site infections
• 82% above the national average for avoiding urinary tract infections associated with catheters

Consumer Reports ranks Aventura Hospital and Medical Center as above average for:

Avoiding Death – Medical

The rating measures the probability that a patient suffering from a stroke, heart failure, heart attack, pneumonia or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will die within a month of hospital admission.

Avoiding Death – Surgical

The rating measures the frequency of a patient undergoing surgery dying in the hospital following development of a serious but treatable complication.

Appropriate use of abdominal scanning

Only 1 percent of patients at Aventura Hospital and Medical Center received double abdominal scans. The hospital received Consumer Reports’ highest rating in this area.

Appropriate use of chest scanning

No patients received double chest scans, and the hospital received Consumer Reports’ highest rating for this metric.

Doctor-patient communication

According to Consumer Reports, 91 percent of patients reported that their doctors usually or always communicated with them well.

Avoiding bloodstream infections

The hospital reported no infections during the 8,262 patient days between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015.

Avoiding surgical site infections

The hospital reported just two such infections across 138 procedures between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015. This rate was 55-percent better than the national average.

Avoiding urinary tract infections associated with catheters

The hospital reported just two such infections over the 8,242 patient days between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015. The rate was 82-percent better than the national average.

Below Average Ratings — General

Avoiding MRSA infections: 16-percent worse than average. 18% chance of readmission within 30 days for Medicare patients.

Aventura Hospital and Medical Center received below-average ratings in several key areas. For avoiding infections with MRSA, the hospital ranked 16-percent below the national average, reporting nine MRSA infections during just under 112,000 days patients spent at the hospital between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015. The hospital also scored poorly in avoiding readmissions, with Medicare patients having an 18-percent chance of readmission to Aventura Hospital and Medical Center within 30 days.

Average Ratings — General

Average score for C.difficile infections: 60 reported. 22% above the national average.

The hospital earned average scores in several areas, including avoiding infections from C.difficile. Sixty such infections were reported over slightly less than 112,000 patient days between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015. The infection rate was 22-percent better than the national average.

Areas That Are Not Yet Rated

Not yet rated in many key areas, including: maternity care, heart bypass surgery, aortic valve replacement.

Consumer Reports designates a number of metrics for Aventura Hospital and Medical Center as “not yet rated.” These include several areas of measurement under the category of “maternity care.” The hospital did not have sufficient data to receive a rating for “avoiding C-sections” or for “avoiding early elective deliveries.”

In addition, the hospital did not receive a rating for overall performance in heart bypass surgery, which includes survival of patients, absence of complications from surgery, recommended medications and optimal surgical technique.

The hospital also did not receive an overall rating for surgery to replace aortic valves, which includes patient survival and the absence of complications from the surgery.

Patient Satisfaction

Average rating for patient experience:

Above-average in doctor-patient communication

73% of patients: Staff usually or always explained new medications

Aventura Hospital and Medical Center received an average rating from Consumer Reports for its overall patient experience. The score was based on the overall assessments patients provided for the care they received.

Within the area of patient satisfaction, the hospital received an above-average rating in the area of doctor-patient communication. It received several average ratings, in the following areas:

•  Communication between nurses and patients. Nearly 90 percent of patients reported that nurses usually or always communicated with them well.
•  Control of pain; 87 percent of patients reported that their pain levels were usually or always well-controlled.
•  Cleanliness of rooms; 86 percent of patients reported that their room and bathroom were usually or always clean.
•  Quietness of rooms; 89 percent of patients reported that the areas near their rooms were usually or always quiet during the night.

The hospital received below-average ratings in several areas related to patient satisfaction:

•  Communication regarding discharge from the hospital: 79 percent of patients reported that hospital staff advised them of occurrences to be alert for after they left the hospital.
•  Communication of information about medications: 73 percent of patients reported that hospital staff members usually or always gave explanations regarding new medicines.
•  Assistance from hospital staff members: 82 percent of patients reported that staff members usually or always provided help in a timely manner.

Other Quality Indicators

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Below average for overall patient experience

In a quarterly patient survey conducted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the hospital ranked below average both for patients’ overall experience and for a weighted average that included nine individual metrics.

In 2014, U.S. Health and Human Services records indicated that the hospital reported a data breach for the third time in just two years. The breach involved a theft of personal data that affected more than 82,000 people. The start date of the data breach was one day after a previous data breach that affected more than 2,500 people.

If you believe that inadequate care or negligence on the part of medical staff at Aventura Hospital and Medical Center have negatively affected you or a loved one, it’s important to speak to an experienced medical malpractice attorney. For more information about your legal options, please contact our office today.