ECMC’s receives an ‘A’ for the second time from nation’s preeminent safety organization
Erie County Medical Center Corporation recently announced that The Leapfrog Group, an independent, national nonprofit organization founded more than a decade ago by the nation’s leading employers and private health care experts, has again rated ECMC’s overall patient safety score at ‘A’.
ECMC had previously earned the organization’s highest patient safety score in April 2017. The Leapfrog patient surveys assesses: medical errors, accidents, injuries, infections and patient experiences.
The national organization is committed to driving quality, safety, and transparency in the U.S. health care system; their annual patient safety surveys assign A, B, C, D and F letter grades to hospitals nationwide. ECMC was one of 12 hospitals in New York state to receive the Leapfrog ‘A’ patient safety rating. Nationally, ECMC joins the ranks of other national healthcare systems receiving a Leapfrog ‘A’, such as Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic.
“Our goal is to inform patients about local hospitals with the best safety measures in place and the strongest records,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Every hospital can earn an ‘A’ grade, and we’re proud of the hospitals that are committed to making an effort to protect patients from harm.”
Thomas J. Quatroche, Jr., Ph.D., ECMC president and CEO said, “On behalf of the over 4,000 dedicated and skilled caregivers at ECMC, we are thrilled to again receive this exceptional rating from such a respected national organization. Leapfrog is all about quality and safety and confirms ECMC is a national best-in-class healthcare system. There are not many large public, academic, safety-net hospitals across the country who have achieved a Leapfrog ‘A’ let alone doing it twice. This confirms what we have witnessed repeatedly in recent years — the quality and compassionate care of our doctors, nurses, clinicians, environmental services, and our entire ECMC Family, has transformed ECMC into a leading, national healthcare system and hospital of choice for patients seeking our care.”
Developed under the guidance of an expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to approximately 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.
The Leapfrog Group states on its website that they “strive to make giant ‘leaps’ forward in the safety, quality and affordability of health care in the U.S. by promoting transparency through our data collection and public reporting initiatives. More than 2,600 hospitals voluntarily participate free of charge.”