Metro East Sun

St. Elizabeth's Hospital issued the following announcement on Nov. 7.

HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital was awarded an ‘A’ in fall 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing St. Elizabeth’s achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of health care committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade 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.

St. Elizabeth’s President and CEO Patti Fischer said, “I am extremely proud of our colleagues, physicians and other health care partners for their excellence in providing quality patient care. Receiving this top ‘A’ rating from The Leapfrog Group for three cohorts in a row is a testament to how we consistently and proactively elevate our quality and patient safety processes.” Fischer also referenced the hospital’s accomplishments during a recent survey by The Joint Commission, in particular that there were zero infection control findings from the four-day site visit. “The quality department implements numerous initiatives and process improvement projects to be sure every aspect of care and our environment is reviewed, and colleagues are engaged to always put patient safety first.”

“‘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.”

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. Elizabeth’s was awarded an ‘A’ grade today, when Leapfrog announced grades for the fall 2019 update. To see the hospital’s full grade details, learn how employers can help, and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.

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 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.

Original source can be found here.