Baptist Health hospitals earn highest mark for patient safety

All four Baptist Health adult hospitals – Baptist Jacksonville, Baptist South, Baptist Nassau and Baptist Beaches -- received ‘A’ ratings in the spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, a national distinction recognizing achievements in providing the safest health care for patients.

“Our health care teams are committed to constant monitoring and improving our patient safety standards,” said Elizabeth Ransom, MD, FACS, executive vice president and chief physician executive for Baptist Health. “Safety is ingrained in our culture through collaboration and open communication – which are vital in achieving the highest quality standards in our hospitals.”

Baptist Health’s safety and quality protocols have been further enhanced since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis through a number of additional measures. Separate respiratory care units for COVID-19 patients, designated staff and equipment for COVID-19 rooms, and the use of advanced UV technology for decontamination are among the many safety reinforcements the health system has implemented.

“An ‘A’ safety grade is an elite designation that your community should be proud of,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The past year has been extraordinarily difficult for hospitals, but Baptist Health shows us it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms among patients in their care. Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 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.

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade is a letter grade assigned to all general hospitals across the country and updated every six months, assessing how well the hospital prevents medical errors and other harms to patients.