Spring 2022 Straight “A” Hospitals Since 2012
Leapfrog is proud to recognize the 22 hospitals across the U.S. have achieved 21 consecutive “A” grades, which represents an “A” in every biannual grading cycle since the launch of the Safety Grade in spring 2012. These straight “A” hospitals have consistently demonstrated a commitment to patient safety year after year.
Straight “A” hospitals have shared how their strong record of patient safety prepared them for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Statement from Michele Goeb-Burkett, MSN, BSN, CENP, Chief Nursing Officer
Statement from Belinda Sanderson, MSN, RN, Director of Quality
What has led your hospital to earning Straight As since 2012?
Earning Straight As in patient safety from The Leapfrog Group since 2012 has been possible only through a shared vision and solid commitment to our culture of quality and safety by our more than 1,100 employees and our medical staff. This commitment is supported by our Baptist system’s strong mission, vision and values principles that guide everything we do. Our employees and medical staff have a sincere desire to do their very best for our patients every day. We use a system-wide, unified management system to improve and sustain safety best practices. Our senior leadership team does an excellent job communicating goals, accomplishments and opportunities at mandatory quarterly employee town hall meetings, which continued virtually throughout the pandemic. We make a point to celebrate successes and rally to make improvements when needed using our management system tools. There is no room for complacency or status quo when it comes to patient safety. We are always looking for ‘better’.
How did your focus on patient safety help prepare you for the pandemic?
The strong culture of safety already in place at our hospital made our response to the pandemic less traumatic for our employees and staff. Infection prevention and employee safety have always been priorities at our facility and throughout our Baptist system. These best practices are hardwired so employees did not require long hours of extra training. Our corporate leadership team was instrumental in making sure that all entities within our system had the necessary tools and equipment to keep our patients, visitors and employees safe. Because of the strong supply chains in place pre-pandemic, we had adequate supplies of PPE, which meant our caregivers had one less issue to worry about when taking care of our COVID-19 patients.
Statement from Beverly Hospital Senior Leadership Team
What has led your hospital to earning Straight As since 2012?
Beverly Hospital is deeply proud to have consistently received straight A’s since 2012. We have embedded patient safety and quality into our culture, with all disciplines working together as one team. We put safety at the center of everything we do by routinely engaging with our colleagues, tirelessly serving our patients and our community, and living by our core values.
How did your focus on patient safety help prepare you for the pandemic?
Our focus on patient safety and quality is an integral part of our culture at Beverly Hospital. Our caregivers and staff consistently put patient safety first in everything they do. It is also a priority strategic initiative with the Board of Trustees, Administration, and the entire team. Throughout the pandemic, our dedicated clinicians and staff have engaged with each other to adapt and navigate through an ever-changing and unprecedented public health crisis. This teamwork has allowed Beverly Hospital to protect our team members and patients by providing a safe care environment that also in turn serves to protect our community.
Statement from Pamela Dunley, Elmhurst Hospital, President and CEO and Sherri Leahy, Associate Vice President, Clinical Excellence and Patient Safety
Statement from Alan Iftiniuk, President & CEO
Statement from Deborah Addo, President and Christopher Chiantella, MD, Chief Medical Officer
Statement from Mark Costa, Senior Vice-President, Area Manager
What has led your hospital to earning Straight As since 2012?
Our Quality and Patient Safety Service Line leadership structure helps to ensure leadership, physicians and staff are able to sustain a culture of safety through continuous improvement of processes and systems and thus the quality of care; for example continuous improvement in computerized physician order entry, medication barcoding and reconciliation, care experience, evidence-based practices, error reduction efforts and teamwork across hospital operations.
How did your focus on patient safety help prepare you for the pandemic?
Our Safety Culture, with emphasis on psychological safety (accountability / reliability / resilience) empowered our teams to plan and execute each phase for necessary resources, staffing, and support for healthcare worker and member well-being.
Statement from Katherine Noe, M.D., Ph.D., Consultant Division of Epilepsy Consultant Division of Epilepsy, Associate Professor of Neurology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, MCA Vice Chair for Quality, Safety, and Value; and Judy Henderson, RN, MSAH-M, Operations Administrator, Quality
What has led Mayo Clinic in Arizona to earn straight A's since 2012?
Mayo Clinic in Arizona has many differentiators that have helped it earn straight A's since 2012 from the Leapfrog survey. First, Mayo Clinic's primary value is the needs of the patient come first. One way Mayo ensures this value is practiced is through quality and safety. Safety and quality are embedded in Mayo's culture and practiced by every staff member. Mayo Clinic in Arizona strives to make the right decisions for the people it serves. Another differentiator is its model of physician-led committees, programs and process improvement activities.
How did Mayo Clinic in Arizona's focus on patient safety prepare it for the COVID-19 pandemic?
Like other health care systems, Mayo Clinic in Arizona was greatly affected by waves of COVID-19 surges. At many points, patients who were positive for COVID-19 occupied over one-third of Mayo Clinic in Arizona's available hospital beds. However, Mayo's primary value, culture and highly functioning teams were the foundation to leverage during the pandemic. Mayo used all available resources and talent throughout the organization to develop new tools, such as predictive analytics to help make critical decisions regarding responses and actions quickly. In addition, Mayo's Healthcare Incident Command System – a team activated in preparation for or in direct response to any event that may disrupt hospital or clinic operations – was quickly formed to use these tools and respond. Since information and decisions were changing rapidly, communication was a key component of the process. Many forms of communication such as leadership memos, newsletter articles, scripting for front line staff, etc. were used to rapidly spread best practices and continue existing good practices.
Statement from David Christopher Miller, M.D., President, University of Michigan Health System, Executive Vice Dean of Clinical Affairs, Professor, Urology; and Nancy May, D.N.P., RN-BC, NEA-BC, Chief Nurse Executive, University of Michigan Health System
Statement from Kevin Most, DO, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer and Sue McCoy, DNP, RN, NNP-BC, NEA-BC, Vice President and Flinn Family Chief Nurse Executive
Statement from Barbara Evert, MD, Vice President of Medical Affairs
Statement from Linda Butler, MD, Chief Medical Officer
Statement from Mike Bushell, President
Statement from Mark Lisa, CEO
Statement from Todd Steward, Chief Executive Officer
Statement from Krista Curell, Esq., RN, BSN, Chief Integration and Transformation Officer and Stephen Weber, MD, Chief Medical Officer
Statement from Gary S. Kaplan, MD, CEO, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health