The Leapfrog Group, a Washington DC-based organization aiming to improve health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers, recently released the new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. Lawrence General Hospital was one of 750 awarded an ‘A’ for its efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the US. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D, or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections, and other harms among patients in their care.
“We are thrilled, of course! Outside evaluation is always welcome,” commented Dianne J. Anderson, RN, president and chief executive officer at Lawrence General Hospital. “We are very focused on doing the right thing consistently for each patient. Having our own conclusions about the success of those efforts validated by a respected outside organization is a plus. The ‘A’ is gratifying to us. It’s a confirmation of the patient care quality and experience.”
“This is the only national rating of how well hospitals protect patients from preventable harm and death, such as medical errors, infections, and injuries,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Receiving an ‘A’ Safety Grade means a hospital is among the best in the country for preventing these terrible problems and putting their patients first, 24 hours a day.”
Developed under the guidance of an Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to approximately 2,500 US. hospitals twice per year. It is peer reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.
To see Lawrence General’s full grade details, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.
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 collects and transparently reports hospital 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.