Morris Hospital retains ‘A’ grade for patient safety

The new report includes updated data since the last report was issued in June and uses a modified methodology based on research and public comments.

Using an A, B, C, D, F scale, the Hospital Safety Score report evaluates hospitals’ surgical outcomes and use of evidence-based patient safety processes on 26 performance measures from the time period July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2011.

The data used to calculate the grade comes from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey.

Of the 118 Illinois hospitals listed on the survey, 43 percent received an “A”, 26 percent received a “B”, 24 percent received a “C”, 3 percent received a “D”, and 4 percent received an “F.” This was the first time D and F scores were issued.

Results for 2,620 hospitals across the nation are available at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

“Morris Hospital is strongly committed to providing the highest quality patient care,” said Linda Rice, MS, RN, director of quality/compliance at Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers.

“We welcome the availability of data and information that helps consumers and patients to choose wisely and make informed decisions about their health care.”

In recent years, Morris Hospital has demonstrated its commitment to patient safety by participating in CMS’s Surgical Care Improvement Project, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 5 Million Lives campaign, Project RED (Re-Engineered Discharge), CDC and Illinois Hospital Association (IHA) Quality Initiatives to minimize risk of infections, AHRQ Annual Patient Safety Survey, and the IHA Hospital Engagement Network.

In addition to continuous monitoring of adherence to CMS’s evidence-based, scientifically researched standards of care, Morris Hospital further promotes patient safety through the use of an electronic medication administration record, bedside medication verification bar coding scanning, electronic medical records, and computerized physician order entry.

Leapfrog Group is a Washington D.C.-based non-profit organization that represents large corporations and public agencies that buy health benefits for employees. While there are several other hospital ratings in the market – many of which use Leapfrog data for their calculations – the Hospital Safety Score is unique in that it is offered free to the public, along with a full analysis of the data and methodology used to calculate each individual hospital’s Hospital Safety Score.