When you take somebody to the hospital, the very first concern you will typically have is whether or not the facility itself is a safe place to take them. Fortunately for residents and visitors to Michigan's Great Southwest, Lakeland Health places a very high priority on patient safety and it has paid off once again. Lakeland is one of only 29 hospitals in the entire state of Michigan to earn an "A" grade from The Leapfrog Group. That's an organization that ranks hospitals nationwide on their safety, delivering grades from "A" to "F" in the process.
Lakeland Health recently became one of only 29 hospitals in Michigan and 15 hospitals in Indiana to receive an “A” grade from that group, sparking the response of Eileen Willits, RN, PhD, who is Vice President of Patient Care for Lakeland Health. Willits says, “We are pleased to have earned an “A” grade from The Leapfrog Group as we take pride in our many efforts to keep our patients safe and protect them from injury and infection.” She adds, “Safety is one of our main organizational traits and a focus of many system-wide initiatives on our journey to design perfect patient care.”
Developed under the guidance of an Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data, such as hand washing, infection rates, and patient falls, to assign A, B, C, D, and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year, with only 844 hospitals receiving an A grades in the most recent report. Grades are calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.
Leah Binder is President & CEO of The Leapfrog Group. She contends, “Protecting patients from harm is the most important charge for any hospital.” She adds, “We recognize and appreciate ‘A’ hospitals’ vigilance and continued dedication to keeping their patients safe.”
To see Lakeland Health’s full grade, and how other health systems in the region are performing, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org. Consumers can also download the free Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade mobile app for Apple and Android devices.
