Kansas City, December 21, 2020 – St. Joseph Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing St. Joseph Medical Center’s achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care.
The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade assigns an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade to all general hospitals across the country and is updated every six months. It is based on a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.
“The importance of these latest highest rankings can’t be overemphasized,” said Jodi Fincher, CEO, St. Joseph Medical Center. “They point to our ongoing commitment to quality and overall safety for our patients and staff. We’re honored that St. Joseph Medical Center has been recognized for its commitment to health care excellence in our communities.”
“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 St. Joseph Medical Center. 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.
St. Joseph Medical Center was awarded an ‘A’ grade today when Leapfrog updated grades for fall 2020. To see St. Joseph Medical Center’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’, St. Joseph Medical Center is also recognized for the following clinical achievements:
- Healthgrades 2021 Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award
- Top 10% in the nation for overall orthopedic services
- Five-star recipient for hip fracture treatment
- Five-star recipient for back surgery
- Healthgrades patient safety excellence award
- Top 5% in the nation for patient safety recipient of the Healthgrades 2020 Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM.
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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.
About St. Joseph Medical Center
St. Joseph Medical Center is a CMS 5 Star, faith-based, 274-bed hospital providing a wide range of acute care and outpatient services. Key services include the Senior Care Services, St. Joseph Heart Institute, Joint and Spine Institute, and Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine. St. Joseph is a member of Prime Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading hospital systems for clinical excellence.