(Chelsea Update would like to thank Laura Blodgett for the information in this story.)
The latest Hospital Safety Score released from The Leapfrog Group awarded “A” grades to five St. Joseph Mercy Health System hospitals for their ability to protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections.
Making the “A” grade were Chelsea Community Hospital, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, St. Joseph Mercy Port Huron and St. Mary Mercy Livonia. St. Joseph Mercy Livingston received a “B” score.
“We are thrilled with the high marks our hospitals received across the board,” said Garry C. Faja, president and CEO, Saint Joseph Mercy Health System of Southeastern Michigan in a press release. “These scores demonstrate the high quality care and commitment to patient safety that our dedicated physicians and staff consistently provide at all of our hospitals across southeastern Michigan,” he said.
An independent industry watchdog, The Leapfrog Group produces the Hospital Safety Score under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the score is designed to give consumers free information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.
“We thank our dedicated clinicians for their commitment every day to providing the safest and highest quality health care to our community,” said Nancy Graebner, president and CEO, Chelsea Community Hospital.
Calculated under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm.
More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores in spring 2014, with about 32 percent receiving an “A” grade.
“Safety should come first for our families when we pick a hospital, because errors and infections are common and deadly,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “No hospital is perfect, but we congratulate the board, clinicians, administration, and staff of Saint Joseph Mercy Health System for achieving an “A” and showing us that you made the well-being of your patients your top priority.”
To see how Saint Joseph Mercy Health System’s score compares locally and nationally, and to access safety tips for patients and their loved ones, visit the Hospital Safety Score website.
