For the fifth time in a row, St. Mary’s Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ grade from the Leapfrog Group as a part of the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades service. This is a national distinction recognizing St. Mary’s Medical Center’s achievements in protecting patients from harm and providing safer healthcare.
An ‘A’ grade is the highest possible Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. St. Mary’s Medical Center, a member of Prime Healthcare, is not only one of only nine hospitals within 50 miles to achieve an ‘A,’ it’s one of only two hospitals to have achieved five ‘A’ grades in a row.
“‘A’ hospitals show us their leadership is protecting patients from preventable medical harm and error,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “It takes genuine commitment at every level – from clinicians to administrators to the board of directors – and we congratulate the teams who have worked so hard to earn this A.”
The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of healthcare committed to improving healthcare quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns “A” to “F” letter grades to all general hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care. Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.
“St. Mary’s Medical Center is a very special place. Every day associates go above and beyond to ensure excellent care to our community,” said Sarah Gonzalez, Chief Nursing Officer. “We are extremely proud to have earned an ‘A’ grade for the fifth time in a row. It reflects the continued commitment that St. Mary’s, our physicians, staff and nurses make to every patient that walks through our doors.”
St. Mary’s Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ grade today, when Leapfrog announced grades for the fall 2019 update. Additionally, Medicare announced current hospital ratings this week and St. Mary’s earned 4-stars again. Last month, the hospital received a three-year reaccredidation from the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) in Nuclear Cardiology, as well as the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®- Heart Failure Gold Plus and Stroke Gold Plus achievement awards in August.
To see St. Mary’s Medical Center’s full Leapfrog grade details, learn how employers can help, and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.