The holidays often lead to an increase in emergency room visits due to activities like hanging lights, using large knives, or cooking with hot fryers. The National Institute of Health reports that ERs see more patients during this time, especially due to slips, falls, cuts, and workplace accidents.
People also face issues like abdominal pain, diarrhea, and food poisoning as they deviate from their normal routines, including changes in eating and sleeping patterns. There is also a rise in psychiatric and mental health concerns around the holidays.
When hospital visits are necessary, it’s important to know how safe a facility is. The Leapfrog Group releases hospital safety grades twice a year, providing letter grades based on how well hospitals keep patients safe.
These grades are determined by experts from institutions like Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and the CDC, focusing on factors like infection control, surgical safety, staff training, and communication.
In Idaho, the number of hospitals with an ‘A’ safety grade has increased from four in the spring to six in the fall. However, Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg received a ‘D’ grade, showing a decline from its ‘A’ grade in Spring 2023.
The hospital performed poorly in areas like surgical wounds, blood clots, and patient falls, as well as in handwashing and safe medication practices, due to incomplete reporting on these measures.