Sarah Bush Lincoln was one of 37 hospitals in the state and among 750 in the nation to be awarded an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group for its efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the U.S.
The Leapfrog Group, a Washington D.C-based organization aiming to improve health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers released the new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades Tuesday. 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.
Sarah Bush Lincoln President & CEO Jerry Esker said, “One of our top priorities is to keep our patients safe when they come to us and trust us with their care. This involves our entire workforce, from those who ensure rooms are appropriately cleaned to ensuring that operating rooms are decontaminated to reduce the chances of an infection. Every employee has a stake in our patients’ safety.”
He added, “We have taken great strides to immerse everyone at SBL in our culture of safety to improve patient outcomes and keep employees well too. We couldn’t be more pleased with this Leapfrog report.” He continued that one of the next steps is to take a closer look at the results and find ways to further enhance care.
Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said, “This is the only national rating of how well hospitals protect patients from preventable harm and death, such as medical errors, infections, and injuries. 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 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is peer reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.
Through the SBL Culture of Safety, employees have been empowered to ask questions, and stop procedures if they believe something is not quite right. Other safety tools include using a pneumonic system to clearly state words and numbers, and ways co-workers can help double check work and help out each other.
Esker added that the Health Center’s Advanced ICU is an example of one of its improvements. SBL partnered with a company to provide real time, 24/7 telemedicine services in the Critical Care Unit (CCU). Staffed with a wide range of physician specialist, the team works with staff in the CCU to monitor patients and alert them when they see early signs of change in their conditions. Because of this service, fewer patients require transfers and that helps the patients, and their families, as well.
Lastly, the implementation of Cerner software, Sarah Bush Lincoln’s new electronic medical record (EMR), aids in the continual improvement of safety and quality for patients. The software has a number of enhancements, including pertinent patient care information notifications built into the system to help staff members stay on top of the care provided.
To see Sarah Bush Lincoln’s full grade details, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade 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.