Virtua has again earned all “A”s at each of its three hospitals, according to Leapfrog’s Spring 2015 Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries and infections. The Hospital Safety Score is compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety and is administered by The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog organization. The score provides consumers with useful information they can use to choose a hospital. Virtua’s three hospitals also received “A” ratings last fall.
“We are not surprised that all three Virtua hospitals have once again achieved “A” ratings for patient safety,” Virtua President and CEO Richard P. Miller said. “The Leapfrog Group recognizes that Virtua’s rigorous standards, best practices and continual monitoring of clinical performance ensures that our patients are protected and safe. I commend our Virtua physicians and staff at all three hospitals for this much-deserved recognition and the exceptional care they provide to their patients every day.”
The Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data that involve processes, structures, and outcomes to produce a single A, B, C, D or F score. This letter grade represents a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm and medical error.
Virtua attributes its success in keeping patients safe to its culture of safety that exists throughout the health system. At its core are the relationship based care and shared governance models that Virtua staff practices. This enables everyone on the team to identify issues and recommend solutions. These models and oversight by Virtua’s patient safety officer, a specially trained physician, have had an extremely positive impact on safety and quality.
Miller also credits innovative technology such as electronic medical records and the expansion of its Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) system as having a tremendous impact on patient safety.
“This technology helps to prevent errors, which in turn safeguards our patients,” Miller said.
Nationally, more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals were assigned scores in spring 2015, with about 31-percent receiving an “A” grade. The Hospital Safety Score is completely transparent, with a full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades available online.
“Virtua’s A grade validates its achievement in preventing harm within the hospital, and we are proud to recognize the efforts of the care providers and staff,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Patient safety requires constant vigilance and we encourage Virtua and all other A hospitals to continue demonstrating unrelenting commitment to patients by consistently providing a safe environment for care.”
