Baptist Health hospitals receive ‘A’ in Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades

Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, Baptist Medical Center South and Baptist Medical Center Nassau received an “A” for patient safety, the highest category, in the fall 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. This is the third consecutive time Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville has received this honor.

“Baptist Health is committed to providing quality service that exceeds expectations of patients and their families – especially when it comes to patient safety,” said Hugh Greene, president and chief executive officer of Baptist Health. “The ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade is a testament to this commitment.”

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 today. Only 33 percent of graded hospitals in the nation were awarded an “A” for their efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards.

“Our health care teams are dedicated to collaboration and open communication – two keys to success in achieving the highest quality safety standards in our hospitals,” said David Rice, MD, senior vice president and chief quality officer of Baptist Health. “We emphasize and cultivate a culture of safety every single day.”

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. 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. hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent to the public.

“Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals that focus on advancing patient safety. This ranking provides an important resource for patients, and a benchmark for hospitals, to determine how care at one hospital compares to others in a region,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Hospitals that earn an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade deserve to be recognized for their efforts in preventing medical harm and errors.”

In addition to the Leapfrog grade, the National Research Corporation has named Baptist Health the “Most Preferred Healthcare Provider” every year since 1990. All five hospitals have also earned the Magnet™ Designation, the highest honor for excellence in patient care.

To see Baptist Health’s full Leapfrog grade or to learn more, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.