The Leapfrog Group, a Washington, D.C-based organization aiming to improve
health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers, recently
released the new
Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades.
Winchester Medical Center (WMC) earned an “A” grade for the
fourth consecutive time, and is one of 750 hospitals nationwide which
earned the top grade.
The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the
country based on their performance preventing medical errors, infections
and other harms among patients in their care. A total of 2,479 hospitals
were rated in the latest round of Safety Grades.
"We are honored to again be recognized with an ‘A’ grade from Leapfrog,” said Grady W. (Skip) Philips, III, Valley Health System Senior
Vice President and President of Winchester Medical Center. “Every WMC physician and employee plays a vital role in ensuring the safety
of our patients. This collective mindfulness keeps us all focused on respecting
each patient, identifying issues, and preventing harm. Leapfrog’s
‘A’ grade affirms our organization-wide culture of safety
and journey to deliver high quality care for every patient, every time.”
“This is the only national rating of how well hospitals protect patients
from preventable harm and death, such as medical errors, infections, and injuries,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Receiving an ‘A’ Safety Grade means a hospital is among the
best in the country for preventing these terrible problems and putting
their patients first, 24 hours a day.”
Developed under the guidance of an Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital
Safety Grade uses 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data
to assign grades to approximately 2,500 U.S. hospitals twice per year.
It is peer reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.
To see Winchester Medical Center’s full grade details, and to access
patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit
www.hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade on
Twitter and
Facebook.
About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group
is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps
forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship
Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers
to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information
they need to make informed decisions. 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.
About Winchester Medical Center
Winchester Medical Center, a 455-bed regional referral center, is part
of the not-for-profit Valley Health System, serving a population of more
than 500,000 in northwest Virginia, West Virginia’s eastern panhandle,
and western Maryland. Valley Health includes six hospitals, physician
practices, regional medical transport, Urgent Care centers in six communities
and a retail pharmacy.