PALMETTO GENERAL HOSPITAL REVIEW
Updated April 2021
Palmetto General Hospital opened its doors to the public in 1971 and serves more than 130,000 patients per year. The medical services and specialties it offers include emergency care, Cardiovascular care, Orthopedics, and Obstetrics services.
Palmetto General Hospital is renowned for Bariatric Surgery. It is designated by Blue Cross/Shield of Florida as a Blue Distinction Center for Bariatrics.
The hospital has received American Heart Association Quality Achievement Award (2020) and is designated Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology.
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Rankings and Ratings of Palmetto General Hospital
Palmetto General Hospital in Florida is rated high-performing in one procedure/condition. It is a teaching hospital.
Rankings and Ratings of Palmetto General Hospital
- Cancer
- National rank: Not ranked
- Overall score: Not available
- Conditions/procedures applicable to cancer
- Lung Cancer Surgery: 2/5 (Below average score)
- Colon Cancer Surgery: 3/5 (Average score)
- Cardiology and Heart Surgery
- National rank: Not ranked
- Overall score: Not available
- Conditions/procedures applicable to cardiology and heart surgery:
- Heart failure: 3/5 (Average)
- Heart bypass surgery: 2/5 (Below average score)
- Abdominal, aortic, aneurysm repair: 2/5 (Below average score)
- Aortic valve surgery: 3/5 (Average score)
- Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR): 2/5 (Below average score)
- Orthopedics
- National rank: Not ranked
- Overall score: 16.1/100
- Conditions/procedures applicable to orthopedics
- Hip replacement: 3/5 (Average)
- Knee replacement: 3/5 (Average)
- Pulmonology
- National rank: Not ranked
- Overall score: 6.5/100
- Conditions/procedures applicable to pulmonology
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: 5/5 (High performing)
Patient Experience at Palmetto General Hospital
Scores are based on surveys taken from Palmetto General Hospital’s patients inquiring about the different aspects of their stay after they were discharged.
- Satisfaction with the Hospital overall: 2/5
- Willingness to recommend: 2/5
- Satisfaction with doctors’ communications: 2/5
- Satisfaction with nurses’ communications: 2/5
- Satisfaction with efforts to prevent medication harm: 3/5
- Satisfaction with quality of discharge information: 1/5
- Satisfaction with involvement in recovery: 1/5
- Satisfaction with staff responsiveness: 3/5
- Satisfaction with hospital room cleanliness: 3/5
- Satisfaction with noise volume: 2/5
The hospital fared below-average in patient surveys. It scored 2 out of 5.
Palmetto General Hospital has not received good ratings, either in safety reports or in patient surveys.
Leapfrog General Safety Rating
The latest Leapfrog Hospital Safety grade of Palmetto General Hospital is B for fall of 2020.
The Leapfrog group rates Palmetto General Hospital in the following categories:
Infections
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MRSA Infection
Staph bacteria are common in hospitals, but MRSA is a type of staph that cannot be killed by many antibiotics. It is found in bed linen or medical equipment and can be spread if healthcare providers do not properly wash hands between patients.
- Palmetto General Hospital’s score: 1.390
- Best hospital score: 0.000
- Average hospital score: 0.791
- Worst hospital score: 2.863
Palmetto General Hospital performed worse than average in this category.
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C. Diff Infection
C. Diff is a bacterium that causes diarrhea, loss of appetite, fever, and abdominal pain. C. Diff occurs in patients taking antibiotics or who have recently taken them. Like MRSA, C. Diff is spread through contaminated equipment or healthcare providers not washing hands properly between patients.
- Palmetto General Hospital’s score: 0.308
- Best hospital score: 0.000
- Average hospital score: 0.583
- Worst hospital score: 1.737
Palmetto General Hospital performed much better than average in this category.
Problems with Surgery
-
Dangerous objects left in patients’ bodies
This problem does not occur often, but if it does, it can be extremely dangerous. Most of the times, the object left in patients’ body is a surgical sponge.
- Palmetto General Hospital’s score: 0.000
- Best hospital score: 0.000
- Average hospital score: 0.017
- Worst hospital score: 0.354
Palmetto General Hospital did not report any cases of dangerous objects being left behind in patients’ bodies.
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Surgical wounds split open
A surgical wound splitting open is very painful and places a patient at risk of infection.
- Palmetto General Hospital’s score: 0.89
- Best hospital score: 0.67
- Average hospital score: 0.91
- Worst hospital score: 1.20
Palmetto General Hospital performed better than average.
Practices to Prevent Errors
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Doctors’ order medication through a computer
Hospitals use Computerized Physicians Order Entry (CPOE) systems to order medications for patients in the hospital instead of writing prescriptions by hand. CPOE systems help to reduce medication errors in hospitals.
- Palmetto General Hospital’s score: 100
- Best hospital score: 100
- Average hospital score: 83.56
- Worst hospital score: 5
Palmetto General Hospital performed best in the category with no errors reported.
-
Safe medication administration
Using barcodes on medications, nurses scan the medications and then the patient’s wrist bracelet to make sure the patient is receiving the right medications. Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA) reduce the risk of a nurse accidentally giving the wrong medication to a patient.
- Palmetto General Hospital’s score: 75
- Best hospital score: 100
- Average hospital score: 83.44
- Worst hospital score: 5
Palmetto General Hospital performed below average in this category.
Safety Problems
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Dangerous bedsores
Bedsores are wounds on the skin that form when a patient lays or sits in one position for too long without being moved. They can cause severe pain and serious infections.
- Palmetto General Hospital’s score: 0.38
- Best hospital score: 0.03
- Average hospital score: 0.58
- Worst hospital score: 2.78
Palmetto General Hospital performed just a little better than average in this category.
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Patient falls and injuries
Falls can occur when patients who really can’t walk, try getting out of bed. Falls can result in longer spells in the hospital and can also result in permanent disability.
- Palmetto General Hospital score: 0.000
- Best hospital score: 0.000
- Average hospital score: 0.432
- Worst hospital score: 1.716
Palmetto General Hospital performed best in this category.
Doctors, Nurses, and Hospital Staff
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Effective leadership to prevent errors
Errors become much common if hospital leaders do not make patient safety a priority. Leaders must make sure money is properly allotted towards enhancing safety measures.
- Palmetto General Hospital’s score: 120
- Best hospital score: 120
- Average hospital score: 117.31
- Worst hospital score: 9.23
Palmetto General Hospital performed best in this category.
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Enough qualified nurses
Patients receive most of their care from nurses and not doctors. If there is a shortage of qualified nurses, patients might face more complications, and longer stays in the hospital.
- Palmetto General Hospital’s score: 100
- Best hospital score: 100
- Average hospital score: 98.37
- Worst hospital score: 17.65
Palmetto General Hospital performed best in this category.
Leapfrog has given better than average ratings to Palmetto General Hospital. The hospital did not report any accidental falls or injuries experienced by its patients which is very commendable and praiseworthy.
Healthgrades
Healthgrades has chosen Palmetto General Hospital for Awards in a few categories. Some of the awards are:
- Patient Safety Excellence Award (2020)
- Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award (2021, 2020)
- Joint Replacement Excellence Award (2021, 2020, 2019)
Safety Ratings
Two ratings were better than expected:
- Death in procedures where mortality rate is usually very low
- Pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital
One rating was worse than expected:
- Respiratory failure following surgery
Nine ratings were as expected.
No cases relating to foreign objects being left behind in the body during a surgery or procedure were reported at the hospital.
Patient Experience
- Patient Ratings
- 62% patients gave a rating of 9 or 10. (7% lower than national average)
- 64% said they would definitely recommend. (6% lower than the national average)
- Care Team Ratings
- Communication with Doctors
80% of patients said that doctors always listened to them and explained things well. (1% lower than the national average of 81%) - Communication with Nurses
78% of patients said that nurses always listened to them and explained things well. (Same as the national average of 78%) - Communication about Medicines
68% of patients said that staff members always explained medicines before they were given to them. (5% higher than the national average of 63%) - Discharge Information
79% of patients were given information about recovering at home. (5% lower than the national average of 84%) - Care Transition
39% of patients said that they understood their care needs when they left the hospital. (14% lower than the national average of 53%) - Responsiveness of Hospital
71% of patients said they always received help quickly from hospital staff. (5% higher than the national average of 66%)
- Communication with Doctors
- Facility Report
- Quietness
57% of patients said that their rooms and the area around it were always quiet at night. (3% lower than national average of 60%) - Cleanliness
78% of patients said that their rooms and bathrooms were always kept clean. (5% higher than the national average of 73%)
- Quietness
Palmetto General Hospital bagged a few awards from Healthgrades and its patients gave the Hospital mixed ratings in Healthgrades’ surveys.
If you believe that inadequate care or negligence on the part of the medical staff at Palmetto General Hospital has negatively affected you or your loved one, it is important to speak to an experienced medical malpractice attorney. For more information on your legal options, contact our office today.
