Prime Healthcare Hospitals Awarded an "A" Grade, Achieving National Recognition for Patient Safety by The Leapfrog Group

ONTARIO, Calif., Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of Prime Healthcare hospitals that earned an "A" grade in The Leapfrog Group's Fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade more than doubled from the Spring, underscoring the award-winning health system's ongoing commitment to a patient-centered culture of excellence.

Twenty-two Prime Healthcare hospitals spanning nine states were named among the nation's safest hospitals by The Leapfrog Group, a national non-profit that evaluated more than 2,600 hospitals nationwide on their quality and safety measures. The designation recognizes a hospital's success in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States.

"We are inspired by Prime Healthcare's leadership on patient safety," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "Prime Healthcare's continued success in achieving A ratings at their hospitals is evidence that the organization places an emphasis on protecting patients from preventable medical errors, injuries and infections."

Among Prime's hospitals, five have earned an A for the second time in a row and two have earned five As in a row. Additionally, four hospitals transitioned from an F in Spring 2016 to an A in Fall 2018. Prime Healthcare operates 45 hospitals in 14 states.

"We have more than doubled the number of our hospitals earning an A this year, which demonstrates our unwavering commitment to deliver exceptional healthcare for our patients," said Prem Reddy, MD, Chairman, President & CEO of Prime Healthcare. "Prime Healthcare is a national model for patient safety and community care, and we could not have accomplished this incredible feat without the tireless dedication of our physicians, nurses and staff at every one of our hospitals."

The Hospital Safety Score measures a hospital's overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm, accidents, infections and medical errors. With the Hospital Safety Grades, Leapfrog assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country. Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign the grades to hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade's methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

All Prime Healthcare hospitals are dedicated to creating a culture of high reliability and reducing harm by implementing robust, evidence-based practices that make a positive impact on patients and their quality of care.

"For so many of our hospitals to receive national recognition and earn "A" grades from Leapfrog for patient safety is a reflection of our commitment to quality, safety and patient service," said Sunny Bhatia, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Prime Healthcare. "Our patients and families deserve no less than exceptional care, and we are grateful to our physicians, clinical and support staff for working every day to deliver quality care with compassion."

As a health care system devoted to rescuing struggling hospitals and turning them around, Prime Healthcare has increased the measures it implements to improve patient safety and outcomes. Examples include the bedside shift report to communicate a patient's care plan with the patient and family at their bedside every shift, and a Computerized Physician Order Entry system that reduces human error and improves the monitoring of all orders across members of the care team to improve outcomes.

Prime Healthcare also follows National Quality Forum endorsed measures to improve leadership structure and systems, maximize feedback and intervention, enhance teamwork training and skill building and identify and mitigate risks and hazards.

The top Fall 2018 Prime hospital awardees are: Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Inglewood, CA; Desert Valley Hospital, Victorville, CA; La Palma Intercommunity Hospital, La Palma, CA; San Dimas Community Hospital, San Dimas, CA; Sherman Oaks Hospital, Sherman Oaks, CA; East Liverpool City Hospital, East Liverpool, OH; Providence Medical Center, Kansas City, KS; Garden City Hospital, Garden City, MI; Lake Huron Medical Center, Port Huron, MI; St. Mary's Medical Center, Blue Springs, MO; North Vista Hospital, North Las Vegas, NV; Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center, Reno, NV; Saint Clare's Hospital, Denville, NJ; Saint Clare's Hospital, Dover, NJ; Saint Michael's Medical Center, Newark, NJ; St. Mary's General Hospital, Passaic, NJ; Roxborough Memorial Hospital, Philadelphia, PA; Dallas Regional Medical Center, TX; Harlingen Medical Center, Harlingen, TX; Knapp Medical Center, Weslaco, TX; Mission Regional Medical Center, Mission, TX; and Pampa Regional Medical Center, Pampa, TX.

The Leapfrog Group is one of the many rankings, ratings and scorecards in which Prime Healthcare participates to measure quality of patient care and patient satisfaction. To learn more about the methodology used in determining grades, visit the Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.

About Prime Healthcare: Prime Healthcare is an award-winning health system operating 45 hospitals in 14 states. It is one of the nation's leading healthcare service providers with nearly 45,000 employees and physicians dedicated to providing the highest quality healthcare. Fifteen of the Prime Healthcare hospitals are not-for-profit, and members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity.

SOURCE Prime Healthcare

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