Patient safety and the quality of care are two of Blue Mountain Health System's main goals.

On Sept. 3, the health system's Gnaden Huetten and Palmerton campuses received the Safety Across the Board Excellence Award by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania's Hospital Engagement Network for their "achievement of exceptional performance." The community hospitals were two of only 26 PA-HEN participating hospitals throughout the state that received the award.To be eligible for the award, hospitals must meet both the performance and participation criteria set by PA-HEN.Dorothy Patzek, vice president of nursing at Blue Mountain Health System, said the work the health system has been implementing has made a difference in the quality of care patients receive when they walk through the hospital doors."I'm really proud of Blue Mountain Health System and all the employees," she said. "We do terrific work here. To be acknowledged for that kind of validates what we do here every day."We may not be doing open heart surgeries, but what we do, we do really well," she said.Patzek said the hospitals received "exceptional performance" in six of the nine adverse event areas that they joined, including central line-associated bloodstream infections, surgical site infections, pressure ulcer prevention, readmissions, venous thromboembolism and ventilator-associated events.She said the hospital began implementing new initiatives under the Partnership for Patients program in 2011 as a way to help reduce the number of adverse event areas such as hospital-acquired conditions and readmissions.For example, a team of nonclinical and clinical staff was formed to help cut down on the number of cases involving pressure ulcers. Together they identified the need for a new type of bed that would help reduce new cases of pressure ulcers.Now, through a new communication system set in place in all departments, patients at risk for pressure ulcers are identified as soon as they walk in the door and are given an air overlay mattress that provides a cushionlike barrier between the mattress and the patient's skin."We enlisted in these initiatives such as pressure ulcer prevention because we identified some weakness in the area," Patzek said. "As a result of that, I am extremely proud that we excelled in those areas. It was a lot of hard work and it is paying off."Lisa Johnson, vice president of public relations and marketing at Blue Mountain Health System, said solutions such as the one for preventing pressure ulcers has been shared through the HAP-HEN network, creating a national opportunity for hospitals to work together to solve common issues within their facilities."You get the highest quality of patient safety and quality care here because we participate in programs like HAP-HEN and Partnership for Patients," she said.