Two Valley Health System hospitals, Winchester Medical Center and Warren
Memorial Hospital, each earned an “A” grade from The Leapfrog
Group, a nonprofit organization committed to driving quality, safety,
and transparency in the U.S. health system.
The Hospital Safety Score is a gold standard rating for patient safety,
compiled under the guidance of some of the nation’s leading patient
safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, independent
nonprofit organization. The first and only hospital safety rating to be
peer-reviewed in the
Journal of Patient Safety, the Hospital Safety Score is free to the public and designed to give
consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families
when expecting a hospital stay.
“Patient safety is a critical component of quality healthcare and
is a top priority across Valley Health and at all of our facilities,”
said Mark H. Merrill, President and CEO of Valley Health. “We continue
to advance a quality and safety infrastructure that supports patient safety
within every department, every service, every day, for each patient we
have the privilege to serve. I’m very proud of the processes and
measures in place throughout our organization to ensure our patients receive
the “A” care they deserve.”
Developed 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. The score represents
a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable
harm such as medical errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.
Of the 66 hospitals graded in Virginia, 31 received an A, 21 received a
B, and 14 received a C or a D. Critical Access hospitals – federally-designated
to ensure access to care in more remote, underserved areas -- are not
graded by the Leapfrog Group. (Valley Health’s other four hospitals
are Critical Access Hospitals.)
The Hospital Safety Score is fully transparent, offering a full analysis
of the data and methodology used in determining grades on the website.
Patients may review their preferred hospital’s past safety performance
alongside its current grade on the Hospital Safety Score site to determine
which local hospitals have the best track record in patient safety and
which have demonstrated consistent improvement.
“Winchester Medical Center’s A grade demonstrates our commitment
to putting patient safety above all else, and reflects the hard work and
dedication of our physicians and staff who strive to deliver safe, effective
care each and every day,” said Grady “Skip” Philips,
III, Valley Health System Senior Vice President and President of Winchester
Medical Center.
All Valley Health hospitals practice safety initiatives such as Daily Safety
Rounds and a Daily Safety Call, which engage every department to heighten
awareness around patient safety and provide a mechanism for the organization’s
leadership and staff to learn from those delivering hands-on care at the bedside.
“This recognition is truly a testament to the level of care provided
by our staff,” said Floyd Heater, Valley Health Southern Region
Vice President and President of Warren Memorial Hospital. “By making
patient safety a priority, we’re demonstrating our continued focus
on delivering top notch care for residents here in Warren County.”
To see Valley Health’s scores as they compare nationally and locally,
visit the Hospital Safety Score website at
www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.