Stanford Health Care and Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare earn A grades for patient safety

Stanford Health Care and Stanford Health Care – Valley Care have received A grades for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, a leading national health care watchdog organization that evaluates providers based on rigorous quality and patient-safety standards.

News of the latest safety grades comes as Stanford Health Care employees have worked tirelessly to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The hard work of our entire organization is reflected in this award, and we should all be proud of this accomplishment,” said Stanford Health Care President and CEO David Entwistle. “Amid this worldwide pandemic, my sincere thanks go out to our doctors, nurses and many others who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to put the safety of our patients and community first.”

Leapfrog announced its spring 2020 Hospital Safety Grade rankings on April 30. The rankings represent overall performance in keeping patients safe from medical errors and preventable harm. 

As many as 28 measures — chosen by a panel of experts using publicly available data — are used to determine grades of A, B, C, D or F. Criteria include leadership in error prevention and safety practice implementation; use of electronic medical records; the qualifications and responsiveness of care teams; and incidences of infection, surgical problems and patient injuries. 

“Our goal is to inform patients about local hospitals with the best safety measures in place and the strongest records,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Every hospital can earn an A grade, and we’re proud of the hospitals that are committed to making an effort to protect patients from harm.”

The group grades more than 2,600 U.S. general and acute-care hospitals for safety twice a year. In December, it also recognized Stanford Health Care as one of the nation’s top 55 teaching hospitals.