Tacoma – Virginia Mason Franciscan Health was recognized as a leader in patient safety in Washington state with five ‘A’ safety grades across the system, according to the Leapfrog Group’s fall 2021 Hospital Safety Grade report. The national distinction recognizes Virginia Mason Franciscan Health’s achievements in protecting patients from harm and error in the hospital.
“As our care teams continue to manage the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, these high patient safety grades are a testament to our commitment to providing exceptional patient care,” said Ketul J. Patel, CEO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. “We appreciate their unwavering hard work and dedication to caring for our patients and community.”
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over thirty national performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
“We are proud that we maintained our ‘A’ hospital grades and even improved safety grades system-wide,” said Gary S. Kaplan, MD, CEO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.“We look forward to continually improving our quality and safety practices to consistently provide the safest care possible to our communities.”
Other Virginia Mason Franciscan Health hospitals receiving ‘A’ grades include St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood.
