September 28, 2022 – An initiative at LAC+USC Medical Center to decrease patient falls in and acute-care medical surgical jail ward is featured in a new illustrated guide of a dozen programs recognized earlier this year with national awards for quality, population health, and COVID-19 care. The guide from America’s Essential Hospitals, Excellence and Innovation in Care: The 2022 Gage Awards, documents LAC+USC’s two interventions that were implemented to reduce patient falls in the jail ward. In June, America’s Essential Hospitals announced it had selected this program as a highlighted program in the association’s annual Gage Awards, which honor exceptional and innovative care among its more than 300 member hospitals.

“LAC+USC Medical Center, one of the busiest safety-net hospitals in the country, is dedicated to providing world class care to all of its patients. We are devoted to caring for those who encounter social and economic obstacles to care, and we continue to focus our work on promoting equity and lowering health inequalities. I am extremely pleased of our team’s innovative efforts to give the achieve outcomes for patients.” said Jorge Orozco, chief medical officer at LAC+USC Medical Center.

“We are delighted to have our innovative care models be recognized by America’s Essential Hospitals.  We are continuously striving to find new and better ways to deliver more and better care.  Innovation is our creed, and we are delighted the Gage Awards are a wonderful validation of these efforts. “said, Brad Spellberg, chief medical officer at LAC+USC Medical Center.

“All our Gage Award recipients exemplify essential hospitals’ commitment to mission and to delivering high-quality care, often with limited resources,” says Kalpana Ramiah, DrPH, MSc, vice president of innovation and director of Essential Hospitals Institute, the research, education, and leadership development arm of America’s Essential Hospitals. “These hospitals fill an invaluable role as community anchors and sources of care for disadvantaged people.”

_{About LAC+USC Medical Center}

LAC+USC Medical Center (LAC+USC) is a 600-bed, Level One Trauma Center and an academic teaching hospital run by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS).  Through affiliation with the Keck School of Medicine of USC, LAC+USC is one of the premier academic teaching hospitals in the nation and a leading training site for physicians completing their Graduate Medical Education.  LAC+USC operates special units that serve patients across the Southern California region, including a Burn Center, Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and Psychiatric and Pediatric Emergency Rooms.  LAC+USC is home to the Rand Schrader HIV/AIDS Clinic and the Violence Intervention Program, which offers outpatient services to victims of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse, and to children in foster care.  The Medical Center campus is also the home to a nonprofit organization, The Wellness Center, which provides a range of programs for community residents.