CONYERS, Ga. - Piedmont Rockdale Hospital has earned the Health Research and Education Trust Hospital Improvement and Innovation Network designation of a Milestone 8 Hospital through the Georgia Hospital Association. The designation reflects Piedmont Rockdale’s work to keep patients and workers safe from harm and infection while at the facility.

“Our goal at Piedmont Rockdale is to provide high-quality healthcare in a safe environment,” Geoffrey Cole, M.D., chief medical officer at Piedmont Rockdale Hospital, said. “The Milestone 8 Hospital designation validates our continued efforts to reduce hospital-acquired conditions at Piedmont Rockdale.”

Throughout the two-year initiative, there were numerous milestones to meet, with Milestone 8 being the highest level achieved to date. Participating hospitals were required to submit data and meet targets showing improvement to baseline data. Piedmont Rockdale demonstrated a nearly 20 percent reduction in hospital-acquired conditions to earn the Milestone 8 Hospital designation.

“We are proud of Piedmont Rockdale Hospital’s accomplishments and look forward to supporting future improvement goals and milestones,” Kathy McGowan, vice president, Quality and Safety for the Georgia Hospital Association, said. “Working together, we can ensure that every patient and every worker at Piedmont Rockdale is safe from harm and infection. GHA is here to support Piedmont Rockdale as they continue in the HIIN initiative.”

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), nationwide approximately 125,000 fewer patients have died in the hospital and an estimated $28 billion in health care costs have been saved because of reductions in hospital-acquired conditions.

For more information on the HRET HIIN, visit www.hret-hiin.org. To learn more about Piedmont Healthcare’s commitment to quality, visit www.piedmont.org/quality.