MINNEAPOLIS, June 25, 2009 - Twenty-five Minnesota hospitals this month received the Minnesota Hospital Association’s Patient Safety Excellence Awards that recognize work to prevent the most prevalent types of adverse health events, such as accidental falls.

The honor hospitals participating in at least one of the association’s four safety campaigns. The campaigns target efforts at preventing: pressure ulcers, or bedsores; falls; wrong-site invasive procedures and foreign objects retained during labor and delivery.

To qualify, hospitals must have implemented at least 90 percent of a campaign’s required safety measures, such as verifying that they are repositioning at-risk patients at least every two hours to prevent pressure ulcers.

To learn more, visit MHA’s Web site at www.mnhospitals.org.

Following are the winners of the April 2009 (issued June 2009) Minnesota Hospital Association Patient Safety Excellence Awards

Austin Medical Center — Mayo Health System - Safe from Falls
Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center, Marshall - afe Skin
Bigfork Valley Hospital - Safe Site
Buffalo Hospital - Safe Site
Cuyuna Regional Medical Center -  Crosby Safe Count, Safe from Falls, Safe Site
District One Hospital - Faribault Safe Count
Fairmont Medical Center – Mayo Health System - Safe Site
Granite Falls Municipal Hospital & Manor - Safe Count
Kanabec Hospital, Mora - Safe Count
Mercy Hospital, Coon Rapids - Safe Site
MeritCare Thief River Falls Northwest Medical Center - Safe Site
North Country Regional Hospital, Bemidji - Safe Count
North Memorial Medical Center, Robbinsdale - Safe Site
Olmsted Medical Center, Rochester Safe Count - Safe from Falls
Perham Memorial Hospital and Home - Safe Site
Queen of Peace Hospital, New Prague -  Safe Site
Rice Memorial Hospital, Willmar - Safe Site
Ridgeview Medical Center, Waconia - Safe Count
RiverView Health, Crookston - Safe Skin, Safe From Falls
Riverwood Healthcare Center, Aitkin - Safe Count, Safe From Falls
Sibley Medical Center - Safe Skin, Safe Site
St. Francis Healthcare Campus, Breckenridge - Safe Site
St. Francis Regional Medical Center, Shakopee - Safe Skin
St. Gabriel’s Hospital, Little Falls - Safe Count
University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, Minneapolis - Safe Site