Newswise — Keeping patients safe while they are in the hospital is as crucial to their health as providing effective treatments, and few hospitals have been rated safe as dependably as Rush University Medical Center, which has received its 10th consecutive "A" grade for safety from the Leapfrog Group. The fall 2016 grades were announced on October 31.
Rush is one of only 72 hospitals in the country to receive an A grade, the highest possible, each time the Leapfrog Group has rated hospitals since launching the organization’s Hospital Safety Score in June 2012. These consistently safe institutions make up just 2.7 percent of the 2,633 hospitals in the United States that Leapfrog evaluated for the latest round of the organization's twice-yearly grading.
A national patient safety watchdog organization, Leapfrog used 30 measures of publicly available hospital data to assign scores of A, B, C, D or F. The score represents each hospital’s overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections while they are in the hospital.
Leapfrog’s grading also incorporates measures of patient experience that contribute to improved patient safety outcomes. Taken from results of patient surveys, these measures include patients’ communication with their doctors and nurses, communications about medicine and hospital discharge, and the responsiveness of hospital staff.
“Rush University Medical Center has a tireless focus on providing the safest possible care for our patients, and as a result we’ve had straight As from the beginning of Leapfrog’s evaluations,” said Richa Gupta, MBBS, MHSA, the Medical Center’s chief quality officer. “These grades reflect the efforts of everyone at the organization and our continued.”
“I am proud of the amazing consistency and dedication of everyone taking care of our patients at Rush throughout the five years that Leapfrog has graded hospitals. The best thing about it is that it shows patients that they can feel confident that when they’re at Rush, they will be safe from the kinds of avoidable complications that can make patients worse instead of better,” says Michael Dandorph, Rush’s president.
A-Level Care Saves Lives
An analysis conducted for Leapfrog found that an estimated 206,021 avoidable deaths occur in hospitals in the United States each year, and that an estimated 33,439 lives could be saved annually if all hospitals performed as well as A-rated hospitals such as Rush University Medical Center. The study also found that the risk of avoidable death was 9 percent higher in B hospitals than A hospitals, and rose to 35 percent higher in C hospitals and 50 percent higher in D and F hospitals. Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality provided the analysis, which it conducted this spring using that grading period's round of patient safety data.
The Leapfrog Group compiles the Hospital Safety Score under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety in order to provide the public with information that people can use to protect themselves and their families. To see Rush’s scores as they compare nationally and locally, and to find safety tips for patients and their loved ones, visit the Hospital Safety Score website.
‘A’ grade is latest in steady stream of honors for Rush
The Leapfrog grade is the latest in a consistent stream of honors for Rush that is unique among U.S. hospitals, including the following recognitions.
• In August, U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Hospitals” issue ranked Rush University Medical Center among the best hospitals in the country in nine specialty areas. The orthopedics program was ranked fourth in the country, making it the highest-ranked orthopedics program in Illinois for the second year in a row. • In July, Rush University Medical Center and Rush Oak Park Hospital were awarded four stars by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ overall hospital quality star rating – the highest of any Chicago-area academic health system. • In September, the Medical Center also was ranked fifth in the nation among 102 leading academic medical centers in the latest annual quality and accountability study conducted by Vizient Inc. • Rush received its fourth consecutive Magnet designation, the highest honor in nursing, in January.• Rush has been ranked among the country's top 100 hospitals — and 15 major teaching hospitals — three times by Truven Health Analytics, a leading provider of health care data and analytics.• The Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights group that advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality, has named the Medical Center a Leader in LGBT Health Equality for eight consecutive years. The HRC also has named Rush Oak Park Hospital a leader for the past three years.• Rush was one of four hospitals in the country that the American Hospital Association honored for equity of care in June of 2015.
About Rush
Rush is a not-for-profit health care, education and research enterprise comprising Rush University Medical Center, Rush University, Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rush Health. The mission of Rush is to improve the health of the individuals and diverse communities we serve through the integration of outstanding patient care, education, research, and community partnerships
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