NEWARK, NJ – April 30, 2020 – Saint Michael’s Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ in the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing the hospital’s achievements providing safer health care.
It is the fourth period in a row that Saint Michael’s was awarded an A from Leapfrog.
The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade is a letter grade assigned to all general hospitals across the country and updated every six months, assessing how well the hospital prevents medical errors and other harms to patients.
“While this viral pandemic has challenged our hospital in many ways and forced us to adopt new procedures and routines, the one constant that remains is patient safety,” said Dr. Claudia Komer, the chief medical officer of Saint Michael’s. “Leapfrog’s recognition of Saint Michael’s is a testament to the commitment of our employees, our medical staff and our leadership to patient safety.”
Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 28 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.
“As the Nation copes with a challenging pandemic, our gratitude extends to hospital leadership and health care workers everywhere for their tremendous dedication,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We hope this ‘A’ helps to thank the people who work and volunteer for Saint Michael’s Medical Center. They are role models in putting patients first, and their service has been extraordinary in our country’s time of need.”
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.
Saint Michael’s is also a recipient of the 2019 Patient Safety Excellence Award from Healthgrades, the leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals, which placed the hospital in the top 10 percent of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data as evaluated by Healthgrades. The award recognizes excellence in clinical care that leads to fewer complications and better patient outcomes.