NCH earns 'A' for patient safety in nationwide Hospital Safety Score
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (April 26, 2016) - Northwest Community Healthcare (NCH) received a grade of A in hospital safety from The Leapfrog Group, a national patient safety watchdog group which released its nationwide 2016 hospital safety scores. NCH was one of 798 hospitals to earn an A in the Hospital Safety Score, ranking among the safest hospitals in the United States.
Leapfrog's Hospital Safety Score uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F letter grades to more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals twice each year. The Leapfrog Group grades hospitals on their success in keeping patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors.
NCH recorded perfect scores in the following hospital safety measures:
Doctors, nurses and hospital staff
• Training to improve safety
• Effective leadership to prevent errors
• Enough qualified nurses
• Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients
Practices to prevent errors
• Staff accurately record patient medications
• Hand washing
• Staff work together to prevent errors
Safety problems
• Track and reduce risks to patients
• Take steps to prevent ventilator problems
Problems with surgery
• No dangerous object left in patient's body
"We all work hard every day to create an environment where our patients receive safe, high quality care," NCH CEO Steve Scogna says. "When a national leader in safety and quality such as Leapfrog recognizes NCH, it reaffirms our commitment to the patients and communities we serve."
The Hospital Safety Score is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. To see NCH's full score, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org or follow The Hospital Safety Score on Twitter or Facebook. Consumers can also download the free Hospital Safety Score mobile app for Apple and Android devices.
"Avoidable deaths in hospitals should be the number one concern of our healthcare leaders. Hospitals that earn an A from Leapfrog are leaders in saving lives, and we commend them and urge their continued vigilance," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.