Top marks in safety: Baptist Beaches celebrates 12 ‘Straight As’

Baptist Medical Center Beaches is on a steady streak of excellence in safety, quality and transparency according to The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit organization. Backed by data, these grades are widely recognized as one of the top benchmarks for evaluating safety, quality and transparency in health care.

Baptist Beaches is among less than 32% of hospitals nationwide to receive an “A.”

“Twelve A’s in a row for patient safety is a milestone that not many hospitals in the country can claim,” said Jarret Dreicer, FACHE, MHA, MS, hospital president of Baptist Beaches. “Our team’s consistent commitment to excellence in quality and service drives exceptional experiences and outcomes. And we won’t stop here! Quality is a never-ending focus, and we’ll continue to drive improvement in the care we provide every day.”

The Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group assigns letter grades based on performance measures and processes hospitals have in place to protect patient safety as well as promote good outcomes and experiences. This independent grading system helps patients make informed decisions to protect themselves and their families from medical errors, injuries and infections. This program is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

Letter grades of “A” through “F” are assigned to hospitals using calculations based on nearly 30 national performance measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, combined with additional information Baptist Health voluntarily submits for the overall score.

“Receiving top scores from The Leapfrog Group is a reflection of the dedicated people and the strong processes we have in place,” said Jeremy Goodman, MD, MBA, FACHE, vice president and system quality officer at Baptist Health. “We believe every team member plays a vital role in creating a safe environment for our patients. And when people are empowered with the right tools and processes, the outcomes are truly exceptional for patient care and our community at large.”

Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades are released twice a year with nearly 3,000 hospitals across the county receiving a rating.

The rating takes into consideration:

• Process measures (how a hospital gives patients a recommended treatment, including the responsiveness of hospital staff)
• Structural measures (the environment where patients receive care)
• Outcomes measures (what happens to a patient while receiving care)

To learn more about Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.