ST. LOUIS – When it comes to protecting patients from errors, injuries and infections, all three Mercy hospitals in the St. Louis region - Mercy Hospital Jefferson, Mercy Hospital St. Louis, Mercy Hospital Washington - get a grade of “A,” according to the Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score.
The Hospital Safety Score is administered by The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog. The score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.
“We are continuously striving to provide our patients with top-notch care,” said Donn Sorensen, president of Mercy St. Louis region. “It’s our focus to be best in class on quality and service. With the three Mercy hospitals in the St. Louis area all getting an A from Leapfrog, it proves to our patients and the communities we serve that we are meeting that goal.”
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 letter-grade 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 fall 2014, with about 31-percent receiving an “A” grade. The Hospital Safety Score is fully transparent, with a full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades available online.
To see how Mercy hospitals in the St. Louis region scores compare locally and nationally, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and their loved ones, visit the newly updated Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org. Consumers can also go to www.hospitalsafetyscore.org for a free download of the Hospital Safety Score mobile app.
About The Leapfrog Group
The Hospital Safety Score (www.hospitalsafetyscore.org) is an initiative of The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org), a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.
