SOUTHERN MARYLAND — For the first time, two Southern Maryland hospitals—MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital in Leonardtown and UM Charles Regional Medical Center in La Plata—have earned a spot on Healthgrades’ Patient Safety Excellence Award™ list. This prestigious recognition places them among the top 10% of hospitals nationwide for their dedication to preventing serious safety events and providing high-quality patient care.
This award is based on an analysis of inpatient MedPAR data that measures clinical performance across 13 patient safety indicators, each representing a serious, potentially preventable complication. Healthgrades’ analysis found that four indicators accounted for nearly 76% of all patient safety events between 2021 and 2023.
Patients treated at a 2025 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospital have a lower risk of experiencing each of these adverse events:
- In-hospital fall resulting in fracture: 54% less likely
- Collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest: 54.8% less likely
- Pressure sores or bedsores acquired in the hospital: 69.4% less likely
Patient safety is a critical factor in achieving the best possible health outcomes, ensuring that complications and preventable injuries are minimized during hospital stays. According to Healthgrades, if all hospitals had performed at the level of this year’s 442 award-winning facilities, an estimated 100,891 patient safety events could have been avoided nationwide between 2021 and 2023.
A Milestone for Southern Maryland Health Care
The inclusion of MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital and UM Charles Regional Medical Center marks a major achievement for health care in Southern Maryland, highlighting the progress and commitment these hospitals have made in enhancing patient safety standards.
See all of Healthgrades’ 2025 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients in Maryland here.
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