Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare adult hospitals rated safest in Mid-South

Only health system to earn prestigious honor

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Apr 29, 2021, 15:50 ET

MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) reached an impressive milestone today with The Leapfrog Group's announcement of its Spring 2021 report card for hospitals across the country. All five MLH adult hospitals have received an "A" grade in patient safety. Leapfrog does not provide report cards for children's hospitals.

"Earning all "A" grades reaffirms our unwavering commitment to provide our patients with the safest and highest quality care," said MLH President and CEO Michael Ugwueke. "Pandemic or not, our patients deserve and expect our very best, and we work to exceed their expectations every day."

Only the highest performing hospitals included in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey are considered for this honor and must meet specific criteria for safe surgery practices, infection prevention, maternity care and medical accuracy.

"Achieving all "A's" for our performance requires extreme focus, exceptional teamwork and consistent, rigorous processes," adds Ugwueke. "We relentlessly pursue the highest level of excellence, which means better health outcomes for our patients, and that remains our primary focus."

Leapfrog uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice a year. The single letter grade represents a hospital's overall performance in keeping patients safe while providing high quality care. The methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. MLH chooses to submit safety surveys to Leapfrog as part of its commitment to transparency and continuous improvement.

In addition, Leapfrog recognized Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital as the only Tennessee hospital to be named a Top Teaching Hospital. Over 2,200 hospitals were considered for the award; 48 were selected as Top Teaching Hospitals. As a 319-bed hospital, Germantown was honored in the category of hospitals with fewer than 500 staffed beds.

MLH continuously makes efforts to improve on its quality and safety performance, and often looks to other industry standards as a means to measure its progress. For example, in November 2020, MLH became the first healthcare system in Tennessee to earn full ISO 9001 Quality Management System certification, which demonstrates systematic, repeatable, and well-deployed practices that ensure consistent high quality across all industries.

About Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) has been caring for patients and families regardless of ability to pay for more than 100 years. Guided by roots in the United Methodist Church and founded in 1918 to help meet the growing need for quality healthcare in the greater Memphis area, MLH has grown from one hospital into a comprehensive healthcare system with 13,000 Associates supporting six hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient facilities, hospice residence and physician practices serving communities across the Mid-South. From transplants and advanced heart procedures to expert neurology services and compassionate cancer care, MLH offers clinical expertise with a focus on improving every life we touch.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

SOURCE Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare