Atlanta, Georgia—May 15, 2019 – The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit aiming to improve health care quality for consumers, employers and purchasers, announced today the fall 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. Georgia ranks 15th in the nation for hospital safety, up from 17th this past fall. The independent grading system assigns “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” and “F” letter grades to general acute-care hospitals in the U.S. based on their ability to protect patients from avoidable errors, injuries, accidents and infections.
In Georgia, 76 hospitals were graded, and 27 earned an “A,” 20 earned a “B,” 24 earned a “C,” 5 earned a “D” and none earned an “F.” The following hospitals in the metro Atlanta area received an “A”: Eastside Medical Center, Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital, Emory University Hospital, Northside Hospital, and Piedmont Hospital.
“We congratulate Georgia’s ‘A’ hospitals for setting an example for the entire state and encourage all hospitals to make patient safety a top priority. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades offer crucial information to help Georgia consumers make informed decisions about their health care,” said Berneta L. Haynes, Senior Director of Policy and Access at Georgia Watch. “Part of our job as a Regional Leader is to encourage hospitals in our region and state to always strive for improved patient safety. We appreciate the hospitals that voluntarily participate every year in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey to provide information about their safety practices and outcomes to consumers.”
Alongside its semiannual Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade update, Leapfrog contracted with The Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at Johns Hopkins Medicine to update its estimate of deaths due to errors, accidents injuries and infections at “A”, “B”, “C”, “D” and “F” hospitals. Researchers assessed more than 2,600 hospitals receiving Hospital Safety Grades and found that when compared to “A” hospitals patients at “D” and “F” hospitals face almost double (92% greater) risk of death. If every hospital had the performance of an “A” hospital, an estimated 50,000 lives saved could be saved. Overall, the researchers concluded that an estimated 160,000 lives are lost annually due to avoidable medical errors that are accounted for in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. “Avoidable medical errors and infections in hospitals continue to be one of the leading causes of death in the U.S.,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.
“The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade provides Georgia with useful, up-to-date information to further ensure safety and accountability when choosing a hospital.”
Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign the grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.
For more information about the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, as well as individual grades and state rankings please visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Facebook and Twitter. Journalists interested in scheduling interviews should email Leapfrogpr@jpa.com.
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About Georgia Watch
Founded in 2002, Georgia Watch is a statewide consumer advocacy organization working to educate and protect Georgia consumers on matters that impact their quality of life, particularly the effects of predatory business practices, the high cost of utilities and healthcare, and restricted access to the civil justice system.
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.
