Morris Hospital Earns A Grade for Patient Safety
May 17, 2019, MORRIS, IL – Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers is among the 32% of hospitals in the nation that received an “A” grade on the spring 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade released May 15. The Safety Grade is an indication of a hospital’s overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors.
Twice a year, the Leapfrog Group assigns letter grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals using a scoring algorithm to determine each hospital’s A, B, C, D or F grade based on the hospital’s overall performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harm to patients in their care.
The grade is a composite score comprised of 28 publicly reported patient safety measures ranging from infection rates, to falls, hand hygiene, medication safety, staff responsiveness, and leadership structures and systems, to name a few. The data used to calculate the Spring Hospital Safety Grade covers a time period ranging from October 2015-2018, depending on the measure.
Of the 110 Illinois hospitals that were assessed, 42 received As, 31 received Bs, 32 received Cs, and 5 received Ds.
“Earning an A on the Hospital Safety Grade is a tremendous accomplishment that reflects our organization’s continuous commitment to providing the highest level of quality and safe care for our patients,” says Mark Steadham, President & CEO of Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers. “In addition to evaluating outcomes, Leapfrog Group looks at the processes we have in place that validate safety truly is a priority for our organization.”
Steadham says earning an A grade is especially significant for a hospital the size of Morris.
“Being part of this elite group demonstrates that Morris Hospital adheres to the same best practices as the most reputable hospitals in the country,” adds Steadham. “This is an accomplishment the entire community can be proud of.”
Steadham says Morris Hospital’s A was well earned, as the hospital measures quality and safety every day and issues monthly report cards within the organization as a way to continually monitor progress. The monthly report cards are also reviewed by the Quality Committee of the hospital Board of Directors.
“Delivering quality, safe care to patients requires a commitment from everyone in the organization, from the direct care providers to Administration and the Board,” says Steadham. “Every day, our staff is focused on reducing infection rates, having checks in place to prevent mistakes, and ensuring we have strong lines of communication between staff, patients and families. We encourage our staff to report safety issues so we can fix processes and procedures before they reach a patient. This is how we protect patients from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.”
“We’re extremely proud of our staff and the physicians on the medical staff for helping place Morris Hospital in this elite group in the nation.”
Serving patients at 25 locations, Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers includes the 89-bed Morris Hospital, as well as physician offices in Braidwood, Channahon, Coal City, Dwight, Gardner, Marseilles, Mazon, Minooka, Morris, Newark, Ottawa and Yorkville. Through the services of over 1,700 healthcare professionals, physicians and volunteers, Morris Hospital provides lifesaving cardiac intervention with angioplasty and stents, a radiation therapy center for cancer patients, state-of-the-art intensive care unit, sleep center, and immediate care services at three locations. Morris Hospital is a Level II trauma center and a Level II perinatal care provider with an intermediate care nursery.
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 collects and transparently reports hospital 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.
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