For the fifth consecutive time, St. Mary’s Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ in the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing St. Mary’s achievements providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade is a letter grade assigned to all general hospitals across the country and updated every six months, assessing how well the hospital prevents medical errors and other harms to patients.
St. Mary’s Medical Center is one of only three hospitals in the Kansas City metro to have received an ‘A’ five or more times consecutively. Late last year, St. Mary’s Medical Center was also named among the Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety and received the Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM from Healthgrades.
St. Mary’s Medical Center voluntarily submits data to Leapfrog and uses the results to determine where improvements can be made. “We have hardwired our team to be vigilant in identifying ways to eliminate potential infections and improve patient outcomes,” said Drew Grossman, CEO of St. Mary’s Medical Center. “The steps we’ve taken to engage all staff in our culture of safety has both improved patient outcomes and kept fellow employees well. We couldn’t be prouder of another Leapfrog ‘A.’”
“As the Nation copes with a challenging pandemic, our gratitude extends to hospital leadership and health care workers everywhere for their tremendous dedication,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We hope this ‘A’ helps to thank the people who work and volunteer for St. Mary’s Medical Center. They are role models in putting patients first, and their service has been extraordinary in our country’s time of need.”
Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 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 was awarded an ‘A’ grade today when Leapfrog updated grades for spring 2020. To see St. Mary’s Medical Center’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.
About St. Mary’s Medical Center
St. Mary’s Medical Center is a faith-based, 146-bed teaching hospital located in Blue Springs, Missouri, providing a wide range of acute care and outpatient services from a 24-hour Emergency Department to state-of-the-art imaging and cardiovascular care. Key services include the St. Mary’s Heart Center, Stroke Center, Breast Center, Wound Center, Joint and Spine Institute and Surgical Institutes and Inpatient Rehabilitation Center. It is a member of Prime Healthcare, an award-winning national hospital system with 45 acute-care hospitals providing nearly 45,000 jobs in 14 states. For more information, call 816-228-5900 or visit stmaryskc.com.
About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.