WellSpan Health announces today that five of its hospitals have received “A” safety grades for fall 2021 from The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers widely acknowledged as the toughest standard-setters for health care safety and quality.
WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital, WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital, WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital, WellSpan Waynesboro Hospital and WellSpan York Hospital received the “A” safety grade. The safety grades are issued twice a year, and this is the first time that WellSpan Waynesboro Hospital has been eligible to receive a safety grade from Leapfrog. The other four hospitals also earned an “A” in spring 2021 and fall 2020.
“We are proud of our hospitals for continuing what has become a tradition of receiving ‘A’ grades when it comes to safety at our facilities,” said Eugenia Powell, vice president, quality and patient safety at WellSpan Health. “It is our mission to provide safe and quality care to all of our patients. Throughout the health system, our staff is continuously working to improve how we care for our patients in order to keep them safe.”
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to all general hospitals across the country and is updated every six months. It is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospitals’ prevention of medical errors and other harms to patients in their care.
“An ‘A’ Safety Grade is a tremendous achievement, of which these communities should be extremely proud,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “I thank the leadership and workforce of WellSpan Health for their commitment to prioritizing patients and their safety, especially during these trying times.”
Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. WellSpan Health’s full grade details can be viewed here.
WellSpan’s remaining eligible hospital, WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital earned a “B” grade for Fall 2021. Since Spring 2020, the hospital has increased their score, falling just below the cutoff for an “A” grade.
For more information on how WellSpan demonstrates its commitment to quality and safety, visit www.WellSpan.org/Quality.
