Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Received Top Score in Patient Safety
Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital received an “A” in the fall 2013 Hospital Safety Score from the Leapfrog Group. The nonprofit group assigns scores to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals as part of its Hospital Safety Score initiative, which focuses on providing patients and their families with an easy method for making informed decisions about where they receive health care. Scores are based on publically reported measures that are designed to track and reduce preventable medical errors, injuries, accidents and infections. The Leapfrog Group's scoring system scores individual hospitals with an A, B, C, D or F letter grade based on their measure performance. The letter “A” scoring grade given to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital places them among the nation's safest hospitals.
“We are truly honored to have both Northwestern Memorial and Northwestern Lake Forest recognized by Leapfrog for the high level of patient safety and quality our staff provides every day,” said Jay Anderson, senior vice president for performance improvement and chief information officer at Northwestern Memorial. “Achieving an ‘A' on the Hospital Safety Score demonstrates our commitment to the patients and families we serve, and our continued focus on creating the safest healthcare environment possible.”
The Hospital Safety Scores are compiled under the guidance of an eight-member Leapfrog Blue Ribbon Expert Panel of the nation's leading experts on patient safety. The Hospital Safety Score uses a total of 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to evaluate a hospital's overall capacity for keeping patients safe from preventable infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The Leapfrog Group's eight-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel includes representatives from University of Michigan, Stanford University and Johns Hopkins University.
Northwestern Memorial and Northwestern Lake Forest are two of only 813 hospitals nationally and 60 facilities in Illinois to receive “A” grade.
Northwestern Memorial and Northwestern Lake Forest share a longstanding commitment to a culture of quality, safety and service. By aspiring to the highest standards for quality and patient satisfaction with collaborative focus on process improvement, both institutions are committed to delivering care that is safe and without error. To learn more about this commitment to quality, visit nmh.org and lfh.org.
To view more information on how hospitals were scored and see the complete list of the Leapfrog Group's 2013 Top Hospitals, visit hospitalsafetyscore.org.