Virginia Mason Receives 15th Straight ‘A’ for Patient Safety from Leapfrog Group

Newswise — SEATTLE – (May 15, 2019) – Virginia Mason Medical Center has earned its 15th straight “A” for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, the national nonprofit organization committed to improving health care quality and safety.

Today, Leapfrog announced its spring 2019 Hospital Safety Grade results for more than 2,600 hospitals.

Virginia Mason is the only hospital in Washington state – and one of only 41 hospitals in the nation – to have received an “A” in every grading cycle since Leapfrog launched its program in the spring of 2012.

 “This recognition by Leapfrog again affirms that our focus on quality and safety is the right work,” said Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD. “Safety is the foundation for quality. I am proud of all our teams for their commitment to always putting our patients first.”

Twice a year, Leapfrog assigns letter grades of A, B, C, D and F to hospitals across the United States based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms. 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 grades. Its report is peer-reviewed and free to the public

“Hospitals that have earned an ‘A’ grade for every cycle of the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade are making patient safety the priority it needs to be in every acute-care hospital in the United States,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO, The Leapfrog Group. “The leadership at these distinguished hospitals are committed to putting patients first, every minute of every day.

 “Virginia Mason’s continued focus in achieving an ‘A’ grade has exemplified the dedication required to provide safe care, which has in turn saved patient lives by preventing accidents, injuries, infections and errors,” she added.

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other health care purchasers, the Washington, D.C.-based Leapfrog Group advocates for giant leaps forward in quality and safety for health care consumers and purchasers.