MACON, Ga. — Registered Nurse Ally Woodard says washing her hands is the first step she takes when treating patients at Coliseum Medical Centers.
"Make sure that they're nice and safe, they have all their possessions with them that they need, make sure that everything is in close range to them, make sure the bed is in the lowest position, there's no clutter around them," Woodard said.
Chief Nursing Officer David Threatt says their safety precautions earned an "A" rating for hospital safety from The Leapfrog Group, a non-profit, national health care analyst.
"It's looking to see whether or not patients are harmed and what percent of those are harmed and how those compare to their peers and other hospitals in the nation," he said.
The Leapfrog Report says more than 400,000 people die every year from Hospital errors and 1 out of every 25 patients develop infections while in the hospital.
That's why a large part of that grade is based upon procedures set in place to avoid infections and prevent patient falls.
"We have beds that will alarm if they attempt to get out of bed. We identify our high fall risks with patient armbands. If a patient is high fall risk, we will move them closer to the nursing station," Threatt said.
"What we do every day is something we call a 'CHG bath,' which is a chlorhexidine gluconate -- it's a little more than soap and water to keep that patient from getting an infection," Woodard said.
"We have 24-hour coverage with an Intensivist and that's a physician that's specially trained to take care of patients in the ICU," Threatt said.
"We care about giving them that quality care and keeping them safe, because that's really important," Woodard said.
Coliseum Northside Hospital received a "C" grade on the same report.
Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin and Crisp Regional Hospital in Cordele both received "A" grades.
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