CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Saint Francis Medical Center earned an 'A' from the Leapfrog Group's Fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade. The designation recognizes Saint Francis' efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States. The Leapfrog Group is a national organization committed to improving healthcare quality and safety for consumers. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harmful conditions.
"Leapfrog's Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals like Saint Francis that focus on advancing patient safety. This ranking provides an important resource for patients, and a benchmark for hospitals to determine how care at one hospital compares to others in the region," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "Hospitals that earn an 'A' Hospital Safety Grade deserve to be recognized for their efforts in preventing medical harm and errors."
Saint Francis' most recent grade was a very respectable B, but that was not good enough according to CEO Maryann Reese. "Our patients deserve the very best care in the region and we are fully committed to quality and safety," she says. "We set our sights on earning an 'A' and we put systems and processes in place to surpass our goals. We have many examples of best-in-nation care. Only the best hospitals in the nation receive the 'A' designation and we are very proud to be one of them. Congratulations to our team for this outstanding accomplishment."
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 grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade's methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.
"Achieving a grade of 'A' does not happen by accident," says Dr. Thomas Diemer, Chief Medical Officer at Saint Francis Healthcare. "It is the result of a lot of difficult, strategic work throughout the organization. It is like school. Hard work and focused efforts pay off. In this case, our patients and the community at large are the beneficiaries."
Stephanie LaPierre, Chief Performance Officer, is proud of clinical strides made on the journey to achieve this designation. "Saint Francis' hospital acquired and surgical site infection rates are among the lowest in the nation," she says. "We've achieved this accomplishment because of our engaged physicians and colleagues. Saint Francis Medical Center is one of the safest places in the United States to have surgery."
To see Saint Francis' full grade details, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.
Saint Francis Healthcare System is guided by our mission to provide a ministry of healing, wellness, quality and love inspired by our faith in Jesus Christ. Founded by Franciscan Sisters in 1875, our priority remains the same: serve all who enter with dignity, compassion and joy. Serving nearly 713,000 people across Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, our focus is on patients' outcomes, experience and value.
Anchored by Saint Francis Medical Center, a 306-bed tertiary hospital, and supported by nearly 3,000 employees and more than 250 providers in eight communities, the Healthcare System is a driving economic force in the region. Major services include the Cancer Institute, Emergency and Level III Trauma Center, Family BirthPlace and the region's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Heart Hospital, Neurosciences and Orthopedics.