Advocate Lutheran earns 'Straight A's' for Patient Safety from Leapfrog

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital has once again been recognized for its dedication to patient safety. Lutheran General was awarded an "A" grade in the Fall 2015 Hospital Safety Score. The score rates how well hospitals protect patients from preventable medical errors, injuries and infections within the hospital. Six other Advocate Health System hospitals also received an "A" for their patient safety efforts.

And, to recognize its consistently high patient safety rating for the past three years, Lutheran General is also identified among the "Straight A's" hospitals. It means the Park Ridge hospital has never received a grade lower than "A" since the Hospital Safety Score first launched in June 2012.

"Advocate Lutheran General Hospital is one of only 133 hospitals in the country to have achieved "Straight A's" from the Hospital Safety Score since 2012," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, which administers the Hospital Safety Score. "I commend you for your consistency in putting your patients first, and urge your continued vigilance in keeping your patients safe."

"Being a "Straight A" hospital reflects our commitment to be, first and foremost, a safe place to receive health care," says Rick Floyd, President, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. "Getting a high mark for patient safety each year recognizes the hard work of our physicians and associates who are dedicated to consistently maintaining a safe environment in which to provide exceptional patient care."

The Hospital Safety Score is the gold standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guidance of the nation's leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, independent nonprofit. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the Hospital Safety Score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.

The Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a score. More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores in October 2015, with 773 hospitals receiving an "A" grade.