This is a MUST-read for anyone who has to be hospitalized. The operative quote -- "Every hospital should have a plaque at its entrance that reads, ‘There are some patients whom we cannot help; there are none whom we cannot harm’” -- should be remembered by all. Approximately 10 people die from preventable medical mistakes in local hospitals every day and another 100 are injured. Be aware. Very aware.

The backstory: the government released the first report of its kind last week, listing errors and other adverse events among Medicare patients across the nation. Some say there could be inaccuracies in the reporting, but it's a starting point for improving patient care.

Here are some stats:

• Out of 129 hospitals in Illinois reporting, 106 had at least one incident of a patient falling, getting burned or another injury during their hospital stay.
• Some 83 hospitals had at least one incident of catheter-associated bloodstream infections.

And all these mistakes were absolutely preventable! Scary stuff.