All eligible St. David’s HealthCare facilities recently earned “A” grades from The Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2022 Hospital Safety Grades. This national distinction recognizes hospitals’ achievements in providing safer healthcare and protecting patients from harm. St. David’s HealthCare is the only hospital system in the Austin area to receive an “A” for all eligible facilities.
The Leapfrog Group is an independent, national nonprofit organization committed to improving healthcare quality and safety for patients. The Hospital Safety Grade assigns a letter grade to hospitals across the country based on more than 30 national performance measures in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents and infections among patients in their care.
St. David’s Medical Center, St. David’s North Austin Medical Center, St. David’s South Austin Medical Center, St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center and St. David’s Georgetown Hospital all received an “A” rating. St. David’s Medical Center is the only hospital in the state to receive straight “A” ratings since The Leapfrog Group launched the Hospital Safety ScoreSM initiative (now known as Hospital Safety Grades) in 2012. Heart Hospital of Austin and St. David’s Surgical Hospital were not included in the study completed by The Leapfrog Group because the facilities are considered specialty hospitals.
“This recognition illustrates the dedication of our physicians, nurses and staff to providing exceptional care to every patient, every day,” Ken Mitchell, M.D., chief medical officer of St. David’s HealthCare, said. “St. David’s HealthCare is committed to advancing the services we provide through long-standing strategies, policies and education initiatives for our care teams.”
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
For more information about the Hospital Safety Grades, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.
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 healthcare. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC 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.