Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark was was awarded an ‘A’ in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing the hospital’s achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care.
It’s the fifth period in row that Saint Michael’s has earned the top grade from the independent national watchdog organization that is committed to health care quality and safety. Leapfrog assigns an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade to all general hospitals across the country and is updated every six months.
The grade is based on a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.
“Every member of our staff deserves credit for consistently putting patient safety first,” said Dr. Alan Sickles, the CEO of Saint Michael’s. “Earning this national distinction lets our patients know that their safety is of paramount importance and that’s especially important as we enter the second wave of this coronavirus pandemic.”
Saint Michael’s has implemented a number of policies to minimize the risk of COVID-19 spreading within the hospital, including limiting visitors, screening everyone who enters the hospital, and keeping COVID-19 positive patients separated from non-infected patients.
“We’ve learned many lessons from the spring that have improved our safety protocols throughout our hospital,” Dr. Sickles said.
Earlier this year, Saint Michael’s received Healthgrades 2020 Patient Safety Excellence Award, which is given to hospitals that demonstrate excellent performance in safeguarding patients. Saint Michael’s is a member of Prime Healthcare, a national healthcare network that has more Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients for five consecutive years than any other health system in the country.
“We are extremely grateful to hospital leadership and health care workers who have remained steadfast in prioritizing patient safety as our nation battles COVID-19,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “This ‘A’ is a testament to the care and commitment of those who work for Saint Michael’s. With the current pandemic exposing existing flaws within the U.S. health care system, we appreciate you putting patient safety first. Lives depend on it.”
Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.
To see Saint Michael’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.
In addition to a Leapfrog ‘A’, Saint Michael’s was recently named one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals in October for cardiac care and prostate surgeries by Healthgrades. It is the fourth year in a row that Saint Michael’s has been named to America’s 100 Best Hospitals for cardiac care and the first time for prostate surgeries. Saint Michael’s is one of only five hospitals in New Jersey to receive the distinction.