Sarah Bush Lincoln was awarded an ‘A’ in the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Sarah Bush Lincoln’s achievements providing safer healthcare.
This is Sarah Bush Lincoln’s third “A” in a row following the prestigious Leapfrog Top Rural Hospital designation earned in the fall. SBL President and CEO Jerry Esker said, “With everything that is going on today in the health world, we are beyond pleased to earn this grade “A” from Leapfrog. It signals that our team is using all available safety tools and mechanisms to prevent harm coming to a patient.”
The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to healthcare 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.
“As the Nation copes with a challenging pandemic, our gratitude extends to hospital leadership and healthcare workers everywhere for their tremendous dedication,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said. “We hope this ‘A’ helps to thank the people who work and volunteer for Sarah Bush Lincoln. They are role models in putting patients first, and their service has been extraordinary in our country’s time of need.”
Sarah Bush Lincoln voluntarily submits data to Leapfrog and then examines the results to see where it can make improvements. Esker said, “We continually look for ways to eliminate potential infections and improve patient outcomes.”
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 ‘A.’”
Nancy Wurtsbaugh, SBL director of Safety, Quality and Risk, who has guided the culture of safety, explained that quality and safety is not just something her departments handle at Sarah Bush Lincoln, but rather every department is accountable for ensuring safe practices are used that translate to quality outcomes for its patients. “We spend a great deal of time not just talking about patient safety, but teaching our staff the appropriate tools to use to help ensure we provide a safe environment for all of our patients. We openly share information so everyone can learn best practices.”
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.
To see Sarah Bush Lincoln’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 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.
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