North Shore Medical Center Safety Report

Updated March 2018

North Shore Medical Center is a non-profit general medical and surgical hospital offering adult and pediatric care. It provides range of medical services, including specialties such as: cancer, diabetes & endocrinology, ear, nose & throat, geriatrics, gynecology, and urology, among others. In addition, North Shore is a Stroke Center. The facility has 816 beds, making it a large-sized hospital in the Miami area.

Leapfrog General Safety & Ranking – A

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety grade of North Shore Medical Center is A, largely due to above average scores in avoiding surgical problems. In previous years, Leapfrog rated the hospital with As, and B’s, but mostly B’s.

The Leapfrog Group rates North Shore Medical Center’s avoidance in the following categories:

Infections: how well patients avoid hospital-acquired infections

• MRSA infection: above average
• C.diff infection: above average
• Blood infections from ICU stay: below average
• Urinary tract infections from ICU stay: below average
• Infections of the surgical site after colon surgery: above average

Problems with Surgery: how well patients avoid surgery-related complications

• Dangerous object left in patient’s body: above average
• Surgical wound splits open: above average
• Death from serious treatable complication: above average
• Collapsed lung: above average
• Serious breathing problem: not available
• Dangerous blood clot: above average
• Accidental cuts and tears: above average

Practices to Prevent Errors: what the medical professionals and staff do to avoid errors

• Doctors order medications through a computer:
• Hand washing: above average
• Communication about medicines: below average
• Communication about discharge: below average
• Staff work together to prevent errors: above average

Safety Problems: how well the patients avoid harm from medical professional’s mistakes

• Dangerous bed sores: below average
• Patient falls: below average
• Air or gas bubble in the blood: above average
• Track and reduce risks to patients: above average

Doctors, Nurses, and Hospital Staff: the quality of the work of those in the hospital to ensure the best patient care

• Effective leadership: above average
• Enough qualified nurses: above average
• Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients: above average
• Communication with doctors: below average
• Communication with nurses: below average
• Responsiveness of hospital staff: below average

However, for almost all of the categories in which North Shore Medical Center ranks above average, one is the best in the country:

• Surgical site infection after colon surgery: The average score is .86; North Shore Medical Center’s rating is 0 infections of this type.
• Enough qualified nurses: The average score is 97.19; North Shore Medical Center’s score is 100.
• Air or gas bubble in the blood: The average score is .002; North Shore Medical Center’s score is 0.
• Track and reduce risks to patients: The average score is 96.26; North Shore Medical Center’s score is 100.
• Dangerous objects left in patient’s body: The average score is .02; North Shore Medical Center’s score is 0.

Above Average Ratings – General

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 probability that a patient may die from a serious yet treatable complication.

Avoiding surgical site infections

• The hospital reported 1 infection over the 190 surgical procedures between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017. This rate was 65% better than the national average.

Appropriate use of chest scanning

• Fewer than 1% of patients received double chest scans.

Appropriate use of abdominal scanning

• 5% of patients at North Shore Medical Center received double abdominal scans.

Above Average Specialties Ratings

Average General Practice Ratings

Average score for C.difficile infections

• 44 reported C.difficile infections during the 124,039 patient days April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017. The infection rate was 39% better than the national average.

Neutral Specialties Practice Ratings

Below Average or Poor General Ratings

Avoiding bloodstream infections

• The hospital reported 16 infections during the 13,079 patient days between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017. This was 48% worse than national average.

Avoiding urinary tract infections associated with catheters

• The hospital reported 17 infections over the 11,244 patient days between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017. The rate was 46% worse than the national average.

Avoiding MRSA infections:

• The hospital reported 10 infections during the 124,208 patient days April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017. This is 40% worse than average.

Below Average or Poor Specialties Ratings

Patient Satisfaction

Above Average Ratings:

Doctor-Patient Communication

• 94% of patients thought their doctor communicated well.

Communication between nurses and patients

• 91% patients reported that nurses usually or always communicated with them well.

Average Ratings:

Control of pain

• 89% of patients reported that their pain levels were usually or always well controlled.

Cleanliness of rooms

• 85% of patients reported that their room and bathroom were usually or always clean.

Quietness of rooms

• 86% percent of patients reported that the areas near their rooms were usually or always quiet during the night.

Below-Average Ratings:

Assistance from hospital staff members

• 83% of patients reported that staff members usually or always provided help in a timely manner.

Communication regarding discharge from the hospital

• 83% of patients reported that hospital staff advised them of occurrences to be alert for after they left the hospital.

Communication of information about medications

• 78% of patients reported that hospital staff members usually or always gave explanations regarding new medicines.

Areas That Are Not Yet Rated:

Childbirth and Heart Surgery is not yet rated.

Other Quality Indicators:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

The lowest rating for overall patient experience. The hospital also scored worse than the average rate in avoiding readmissions, with Medicare patients having more than a 15.3% chance of readmission to North Shore Medical Center within 30 days.

Consumer Reports

The hospital has also received a score of 45/100 for safety from Consumer Reports. The score is below average, slightly below the average score (47) for the seventeen Miami area hospitals that received ratings.

U.S. News & World Report Ranking:

U.S. News and World Report, ranks North Shore Medical Center as #23 in Florida and #9 in the Miami metro area. It is also rated as “high performing” in the following adult specialties and adult procedures and conditions:

• Geriatrics
• Colon cancer surgery
• Heart failure

If you or a loved one sustained further injury or illness after visiting the doctors and physicians at North Shore Medical Center you may have a claim for medical malpractice. Contact our attorneys today to discuss your case and the possibility of taking steps to receive compensation for your injuries.