UConn Health

May 3, 2023 | Lauren Woods - Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine

Straight A’s in Patient Safety for UConn John Dempsey Hospital

The Leapfrog Group Awards UConn’s Teaching Hospital Another ‘A’ for Highest Patient Safety

Leapfrog

UConn John Dempsey Hospital has been awarded straight A's in patient safety.

Leapfrog 2023 awardUConn John Dempsey Hospital continues its steadfast excellence in patient safety. It has been awarded a Spring 2023 “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group.  This is John Dempsey Hospital’s fifth consecutive top A rating in patient safety. The hospital has received straight A’s in patient safety since 2021.

“At UConn Health we put the safety of our patients at the center of everything we do,” says UConn Health Interim CEO Dr. Bruce T. Liang. “Our straight A’s awarded since 2021 reflects the daily focus and excellence of our hospital leadership, providers, and nursing staff. This top rating is a credit to their clinical care excellence and professionalism.”

This awarded A Grade national distinction reflects UConn’s ongoing top national performance in patient safety and even through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Throughout all of our pandemic challenges, our hospital teams continue to excel at keeping our patients safe. Patients are always our top priority,” says Caryl Ryan, RN, chief operating officer of UConn John Dempsey Hospital and chief nursing officer for UConn Health. “Congratulations and thank you to all our academic medical center’s faculty and staff who help make this A rating possible year after year.”

Leapfrog is an independent watchdog organization that nationally assesses patient safety of hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers and their protection of patients from preventable harm and errors.

“Our focus on effective, patient-centered care makes us a destination for health care,” says Dr. Scott Allen, chief medical officer and medical director for clinical effectiveness and patient safety at UConn Health. “Straight A’s from Leapfrog, in conjunction with other national and international recognitions, such as being rated in the top 10% in the nation for patient experience by Healthgrades and being named a World’s Best Hospital  in the United States according to Newsweek, reflects the high-quality of care provided at UConn Health.”

Twice annually Leapfrog assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade in both the fall and spring to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

“This new update of Hospital Safety Grades shows that, at the national level, we saw deterioration in patient safety with the pandemic,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “But this hospital received an ‘A’ despite those challenges. I congratulate all the leaders, staff, volunteers and clinicians who together made that possible.”

Learn more at HospitalSafetyGrade.org.