SMH Receives ‘A’ for Patient Safety

 Hospital safety report cards were released today, and Sarasota Memorial Hospital earned its sixth consecutive “A” for keeping patients safe from medical errors, infections, accidents and other preventable harm.

The Leapfrog Group assigned U.S. hospitals A, B, C, D or F safety grades based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harm to patients in their care.

In its Spring 2019 report, researchers found that when compared to A hospitals:

Patients at D and F hospitals face a 92% greater risk of avoidable death

Patients at C hospitals on average face an 88% greater risk of avoidable death

Patients at B hospitals on average face a 35% greater risk of avoidable death

They noted that 50,000 lives would have been saved if all hospitals had an avoidable death rate equivalent to A hospitals.

“Hospitals that earn an A grade are making it a priority to protect patients from preventable medical harm and error,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “To be recognized nationally as an A hospital is an accomplishment the whole community should take pride in.” 

Of more than 2,600 hospitals graded, 32% earned an A, 26% earned a B, 36% earned a C, 6% a D and just under 1% an F. Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades are calculated by top patient safety experts twice each year to help patients quickly assess and choose the safest local hospitals to seek care. In its latest report card, the expert panel used 28 measures of publicly available hospital data.

In addition to receiving six straight A’s in Leapfrog’s hospital safety report cards, SMH is the only hospital in Florida to have consistently earned the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ highest five-star quality award since the rating system launched in 2016. It also was named one of the world’s best hospitals in a global ranking compiled for the first time by Newsweek magazine. 

“Our successive awards are a testament to the diligence of our entire team to put safety first,” said Chief Medical Officer James Fiorica, MD. “We are grateful for the recognition and proud to set the benchmark for quality care in our community.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses a peer-reviewed, transparent methodology to assess hospital safety. Results are based on performance measures from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey and Health Information Technology Supplement. To access the full results and patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.