South San Francisco, CA November 3, 2015 Submitted by Joe Fragola, Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente hospital in South San Francisco received the top score of “A” by the Leapfrog Group in its biannual safety report, which examined and graded more than 2,500 hospitals throughout the United States.
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits, released its Fall Hospital Safety Scores after examining publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors and infections at U.S. hospitals, which were then assigned A, B, C, D, or F grades for their safety records.
“These safety scores highlight the high-quality health care that Kaiser Permanente provides to the community,” said Ron Groepper, Sr. VP and Area Manager for the Greater San Francisco Area. “This continued recognition is an honor, and it reflects the skill, dedication and caring of our physicians, nurses and staff on behalf of our members and patients.”
South San Francisco is among 13 Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals that received “A”rating. They remainder are: Antioch, Manteca, Oakland, Richmond, Roseville, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Vacaville, Vallejo and Walnut Creek.
Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single A, B, C, D, or F score, representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores in October 2015, with about 31 percent receiving an A grade. The Hospital Safety Score uses data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the American Hospital Association, and its own Leapfrog survey.
To see all hospital scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, the Hospital Safety Score website, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay.