Swedish Covenant Hospital has been recognized once again for its dedication to patient safety by receiving another A grade in the Fall 2015 Hospital Safety Scores. The Score rates how well hospitals protect patients from preventable medical errors, injuries and infections within the hospital. This is the eighth consecutive A grade that Swedish Covenant Hospital has received, in addition to being named Chicago’s only “Top Hospital” in Leapfrog’s 2013 Ranking.
This eighth consecutive ‘A’ makes Swedish Covenant Hospital one of only 133 hospitals in the country to have been recognized as a “Straight A’s” hospital for every rating period. The distinction is awarded to hospitals who have received an A grade from the Hospital Safety Score on a consecutive basis since the Score was first launched in June 2012 by The Leapfrog Group--a tremendous achievement!
“Earning our eighth Leapfrog ‘A’ is a testament to our clinical staff’s commitment to providing the safest possible care while delivering excellent patient outcomes,” said Janis Rueping, Swedish Covenant Hospital’s Vice President of Quality Improvement and Risk Management. “This recognition further illustrates that the well-being of our patients is our top priority.”
An A grade is a valuable indicator for patients looking for a safe place to receive care. The Hospital Safety Score is a standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, independent nonprofit consortium of Fortune 500 companies and other large private and public health care purchasers, sponsored by the Business Roundtable, that work together to drive improvements in patient safety.
Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single A, B, C, D or F score, representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores in October 2015, with only 773 hospitals receiving an A grade.
The Hospital Safety Score makes its data analysis and methodology available to the public on its website. This year, patients can also review their hospital’s past safety performance alongside its current grade on the Hospital Safety Score site, allowing them to determine which local hospitals have the best track record in patient safety and which have demonstrated consistent improvement.
To see Swedish Covenant Hospital’s current and past scores, and to access customer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit hospitalsafetyscore.org.
