Local hospitals earn top grade in patient safety from Leapfrog Group
Employees at Sierra Vista (Left) and Twin Cities (Right) celebrate the achievement.
– Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo and Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton both received an “A” grade in the Spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Tenet Health Central Coast’s achievements protecting patients from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety.
Of particular note is that Sierra Vista has achieved consecutive A’s every reporting period since the ratings first came out in 2012 – only three hospitals in California, and 27 nationwide, have achieved straight A’s since 2012.
“Although nothing important is ever easy, earning the Leapfrog ‘A’ while responding to the Pandemic certainly was possible precisely because our hospitals are agile, expert, and prepared,” said Mark Lisa, CEO of Tenet Health Central Coast. “A good example of this agility is how we developed and launched the only Tele-ER services for all of our Central Coast residents during the pandemic. This innovation at both hospitals is a result of patient safety being our priority. Safety is who we are as a Community Built on Care and these prestigious recognitions are a validation of the hard work, professionalism, and caring of every single person that works at Tenet Health Central Coast.”
This designation recognizes Sierra Vista’s and Twin Cities’ efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States. The Hospital Safety Grade is designed to give consumers information they can use to make healthcare decisions for themselves or a loved one. The Leapfrog Group assigns A, B, C, D, or F grades to hospitals across the country based on their ability to prevent errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. Sierra Vista was also recently awarded the 2020 Patient Safety Honor Roll by the California Health and Human Services Agency, Hospital Quality Institute, and Cal Hospital Compare, which use the Leapfrog grade as one of its benchmarks.
“An ‘A’ safety grade is an elite designation that your community should be proud of,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The past year has been extraordinarily difficult for hospitals, but Tenet Health Central Coast shows us it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.”
Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,700 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and the results are free to the public.
To see both hospitals’ full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.
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