Hospital earns fifth consecutive “A” for patient safety.

Hospital earns fifth consecutive “A” for patient safety.

LUDINGTON — Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital received an “A” grade for patient safety in the new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades just announced by The Leapfrog Group, a national organization aiming to improve health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The “A” ranking is the fifth consecutive top-level grade for Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital from The Leapfrog Group, placing it among the safest hospitals in the United States. 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.

“Continuously achieving ‘A’ level safety in our patient care processes is very important for our clinical staff and something we talk about, aim for and develop key strategies to achieve,” said Helen Johnson, chief nursing officer, Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital. “The achievement of earning an ‘A’ grade for the fifth consecutive time shows that our processes are working. We place a very high priority on providing safe patient care, and this Leapfrog award helps to recognize our staff for all of their efforts. I’m very proud of them for this accomplishment.”

“It’s gratifying to be recognized by a respected and impartial national organization such as The Leapfrog Group,” said Dr. Mary O’Callaghan, northwest region division chief, Spectrum Health Medical Group. “I think I’m most proud of the fact that our physicians and other clinical staff have earned the ‘A’ grade repeatedly, which demonstrates our continuous improvement efforts. We don’t stop improving our care processes, even when we know they are already working. There’s always more that can be done to improve patient safety and we are always looking for ways to do just that.”

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. Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital is one of 750 hospitals nationwide to receive Leapfrog’s highest rating for patient safety.

“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, 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.”

Randy Kelley, president, Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital said, “I congratulate our physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, and other clinical and supporting team members for contributing to this achievement. Our daily safety huddles in every area of the hospital, combined with our team’s commitment to sustained excellence for patients is reflected in this achievement.”

To see Ludington Hospital’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.