The New Jersey Hospital Association announced that St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton, has achieved “Mentor Status” for its work in the Partnership for Patients – New Jersey initiative.

Mentor status means that St. Francis Medical Center received the highest score in one or more of the healthcare-acquired conditions being measured by Partnership for Patients – New Jersey.

Patricia Magovern, director of Quality and Performance Improvement added, “Patients entering hospitals are very concerned about being harmed or contracting an infection. The fact that St. Francis is once again recognized as a leader in keeping patients safe should be reassuring to the community.”

NJHA’s Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey was selected by centers for Medicare and Medicaid services in December, 2011 to bring the Partnership for Patients initiative to New Jersey hospitals as part of a “hospital engagement network.” Sixty-three of the state’s 72 acute care facilities  joined  NJHA’s HEN.

Statewide, Partnership for Patients-New Jersey participants averted 9,206 adverse patient events in 2013 and saved up to $125 million in healthcare costs. In the project’s first year, adverse drug events dropped by 50 percent; surgical site infections decreased by 59 percent, and the incidence of pressure ulcers was reduced by 43 percent. Of the 10 healthcare-acquired conditions being traced each area has posted a decrease since the beginning of the Partnership for Patients initiative.