October 31, 2016 | Lauren Woods - Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine

Highest Patient Safety at UConn John Dempsey Hospital

UConn John Dempsey Hospital has received the highest available 'A' rating for its excellence in patient safety by The Leapfrog Group.

UConn John Dempsey Hospital, which opened its new state-of-the-art patient care tower in May, is A-rated in patient safety by The Leapfrog Group (UConn Health/Paul Horton).

UConn John Dempsey Hospital, which opened its new state-of-the-art patient care tower in May, is A-rated in patient safety by The Leapfrog Group (UConn Health/Paul Horton).

UConn John Dempsey Hospital has received a top A-rating for its high level of patient safety by The Leapfrog Group making it among the safest in both Connecticut and the U.S.

For fall 2016, UConn John Dempsey is one of only six hospitals in the state to receive the top patient safety designation, and one of only 844 of the more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals.

“We are so proud of our hospital and our dedicated doctors, nurses and staff being recognized once again with an A in patient safety,” says Anne Diamond, chief executive officer of UConn John Dempsey Hospital. “Ensuring our patients have the highest level of safe, excellent clinical care each and every day is our most important mission.”

Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group is applauding hospitals like UConn John Dempsey sharing, “We recognize and appreciate ‘A’ hospitals’ vigilance and continued dedication to keeping their patients safe.”

Fall 2016 marks the second time UConn John Dempsey has been awarded an ‘A’ letter grade. It was first awarded top ranking by Leapfrog in fall 2015. UConn John Dempsey has steadily increased its Leapfrog patient safety score since the rating-system’s launch in 2012.

On Nov. 10 UConn John Dempsey will be recognized for its substantial patient safety and quality achievements with the Leapfrog Patient Safety & Quality Improvement Award by the Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH). NEBGH is an employer-led coalition of healthcare leaders that drives excellence in health to achieve the highest value in healthcare delivery and the consumer experience.

Leapfrog is a national organization working to raise consumer awareness about the importance of choosing a safe and high-quality clinical care hospital. Twice a year it assigns its Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades of either an A, B, C, D or F letter grade to hospitals across the country using 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data. These indicators help assess how well hospitals are protecting inpatients from preventable errors, injuries and infections.

Each hospital’s data is collected annually from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey and Health Information Technology Supplement.

To learn more about Leapfrog’s hospital safety grades, visit: http://www.hospitalsafetyscore.org/.