Friday, October 31, 2014

Good Samaritan Medical Center was awarded an “A” grade in the Fall 2014 update to the Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, 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. The first and only hospital safety rating to be analyzed in the peer-reviewed Journal of Patient Safety, the Score is designed to give the public information they can use to protect themselves and their families. All ten acute care hospitals in the Steward Health Care System (Steward) received “A” grade from Leapfrog.

“Good Samaritan is a fifth-time recipient of Leapfrog’s recognition since 2012 which is a testament to processes and culture we have developed around patient safety as a top priority throughout our organization,” said John A. Jurczyk, president of GSMC.  “Thanks to the efforts of our medical staff, nurses and allied health professionals working together, we never lose sight of patient safety, quality care and the patient experience.  These priorities are also reasons for Good Samaritan’s ranking as one of the Top Twenty Best Hospitals in Massachusetts by U.S. News & World Report for 2 years in a row.  We are proud to serve our patients and their families with the recognition of organizations who advocate for consumers.”

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 general U.S. hospitals were assigned scores this Fall.

“Patient safety needs to be a 24-7 priority for hospitals, as errors and infections are all too common and often deadly,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, which administers the Hospital Safety Score. “We commend the ‘A’ hospitals, including Good Samaritan Medical Center, for helping us to raise the standards of health care nationwide, and demonstrating that they’ve made the well-being of patients a top priority.” 

Acute care hospitals in the Steward Health Care System that received an “A” include: Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, Holy Family Hospital at Merrimack Valley in Haverhill, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, Norwood Hospital, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Morton Hospital in Taunton, Quincy Medical Center. Leapfrog does not evaluate specialty hospitals, such as New England Sinai Hospital in Stoughton, which specializes in long-term acute care.

“We are extraordinarily proud that Good Samaritan Medical Center has achieved a Leapfrog A Safety Score for the 5th cycle in a row,” said Justine Carr, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Steward.  “Safety of our patients is fundamental to our mission of clinical excellence.”

In the past four years, Steward has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new services, new physicians, significant infrastructure improvements and new clinical technology to improve the quality of care and patient experience in our hospitals.

About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.