An aerial view of the St. Luke’s Hospital-Bethlehem campus, wihch is part of St. Luke’s University Health Network. (FILE PHOTO)
The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit health care ratings organization, this month released new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, once again awarding top marks to more St. Luke’s hospitals than to those of any other health care network in the region.
“This prestigious achievement reflects St. Luke’s unwavering focus on providing exceptional care to our patients at all times, no matter the challenges,” said Donna Sabol, St. Luke’s Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer.
The Safety Grade assigns letter grades of A, B, C, D and F twice annually–in the spring and fall–to hospitals nationwide based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms.
A record 10 St. Luke’s University Health Network campuses–including Bethlehem, Allentown, Anderson, Easton, Miners, Monroe, Sacred Heart, Upper Bucks and Warren–were among a select group of hospitals across the nation awarded an ‘A’ for their commitment to keeping patients safe and meeting the highest U.S. safety standards.
Geisinger St. Luke’s Hospital was also awarded an ‘A.’
“We salute hospitals for this milestone and encourage them to accelerate their hard work saving patient lives,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.
Developed under the guidance of a panel of national experts, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to nearly 3,000 U.S. hospitals twice per year. The ratings are calculated by top patient safety experts, peer reviewed, fully transparent and available for free to the public.
The Safety Grade is the only rating solely focused on a hospital’s ability to protect patients from preventable errors, accidents, injuries and infections. The latest grades also provide a look at the impact of COVID-19 on patient safety.
To see St. Luke’s full grades, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.
Note: This local health news is brought to you in partnership with St. Luke’s University Health Network.