Kane County Hospitals Earn Top Grades in Safety
Kane County hospitals’ safety ratings are worthy of the honor roll this spring, with a report card of three A’s and two B’s in Leapfrog’s 2018 grading system.
The Leapfrog Group announced Tuesday (April 24, 2018) the spring 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, finding signs hospitals are making progress in reducing avoidable deaths from errors and infections.
The bi-annual grading assigns “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” and “F” letter grades to general acute-care hospitals in the U.S., and is the nation’s only rating focused entirely on errors, accidents, injuries and infections that collectively are the third leading cause of death in the United States.
“The national numbers on death and harm in hospitals have alarmed us for decades. What we see in the new round of Safety Grades are signs of many hospitals making significant improvements in their patient safety record,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog.
Two Kane County hospitals went up a letter grade this spring.
Presence Mercy Medical Center in Aurora had dropped to a “C” in the fall 2017 and “leapfrogged” to an “A” this spring. Presence Saint Joseph Hospital – Elgin had earned a “C” grade the past three grading periods and was back to a “B” this time around.
Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin stayed at a “B” grade. Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva and Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora earned A’s.
Rush Copley kept its perfect scorecard, earning an “A” grade each year since 2012.
“Protecting our patients from harm is ingrained in our strong culture of safety at Rush Copley,” said Barry C. Finn, president and CEO of Rush Copley and executive vice president of the Rush system in a news release. “We continually strive to provide the highest standards of safety and compassion to our patients. These ratings are a result of the extraordinary care and commitment of each and every member of the Rush System.”
Additional Hospital Safety Grade findings include:
- Of the approximately 2,500 hospitals graded, 30 percent earned an “A,” 28 percent earned a “B,” 35 percent a “C,” six percent a “D” and one percent an “F.”
- The five states with the highest percentage of “A” hospitals this spring are Hawaii, Idaho, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Virginia.
- Hospitals with “F” grades are located in California, Washington, D.C., Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York.
- There are no “A” hospitals in Alaska, Delaware or North Dakota.
- Impressively, 49 hospitals nationwide have achieved an “A” in every grading update since the launch of the Safety Grade in spring 2012.
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Presence Mercy Medical Center
Address: 1325 N. Highland Ave., Aurora
Address: 77 N. Airlite St., Elgin
Address: 1425 N. Randall Road, Elgin
About the Grade
Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades (formerly known as Hospital Safety Scores) are assigned to approximately 2,500 general acute-care hospitals across the nation twice annually.
The Safety Grade is becoming the gold standard measure of patient safety, cited in MSNBC, The New York Times, and AARP The Magazine.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses national performance measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey and Health Information Technology Supplement.
How to Use the Grade
Many hospitals have world-renowned doctors and equipment, but not all hospitals prioritize their patient’s safety above all else. This tool can help guide your decision in a number of situations:
- Has your doctor referred you or a family member to a hospital for surgery?
- Are you preparing to have a baby?
- Is someone in your family suffering from chronic illness that could require immediate or consistent hospital care?
- Is your choice of hospital solely based on location or word-of-mouth?
The Safety Grade rates hospitals on the very basics of medical care, such as handwashing, entering prescriptions through a computer, and the availability of highly-trained nurses. So no matter the reason for a hospital visit, safety should be your number one concern.
SOURCE: Leapfrog website
