The nationally-acclaimed Washington D.C.-based Leapfrog Group, which aims to improve health care quality, has announced the Spring 2018 Hospital Safety Grades and awarded Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton the elite designation of ‘A.’
The new rankings show New Jersey is now 17th among 50 states, compared with ranking 11th in Fall 2017, illustrating the real challenges hospitals face across the state.
“We are delighted to earn our fifth “A” Hospital Safety Grade. Transparency in quality scores helps physicians and staff in the important work of increasing safety, such as reducing infections and falls,” says President & CEO Richard Freeman. “At our hospital, senior leaders make regular rounds and our staff is fully engaged in improving safety, collaborating across areas such as the laboratory, pharmacy and nursing. When our patients put their trust in us, they are getting a whole team behind their care that is laser focused on safety.”
ICU physician staffing provided by Rutgers Health has had a tremendous impact on critical care. Time spent on ventilators in the ICU has decreased by a half-day, which better serves critically-ill patients.
“Quality and safety are increasingly on the minds of patients as they seek care,” added Freeman. “These achievements indicate that this is one of the best hospitals for safety – and that’s what every patient demands and deserves. In health care, our employees work long shifts and in very intense situations, so I am very proud that they don’t miss a beat in providing safe, high-quality care.”
Developed under the guidance of a Blue Ribbon National Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Grade uses 27 criteria to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.
The organization’s website, hospitalsafetygrade.org, provides detailed information about hospital safety grades among hospitals and tips for staying safe in the hospital.
Founded in 2000, The Leapfrog Group is a national organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. 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.