Saint Anne’s Hospital Receives an ‘A’ for Patient Safety in Fall 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

Nov 8, 2018

Newest “A” grade places Saint Anne’s among only 42 U.S. hospitals to achieve “Straight A’s” for patient safety since 2012

FALL RIVER, MA – Saint Anne’s Hospital, a Steward family hospital, has been awarded an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade. The designation recognizes Saint Anne’s Hospital's efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States.

Saint Anne’s Hospital is part of Steward Health Care, the nation’s largest private, for-profit physician-led health care network in the United States, which leverages technology, innovation, and care coordination to provide the highest quality care and safety in communities where patients live.

“Saint Anne’s is incredibly proud of our Straight A’s distinction from the Leapfrog Group, which since 2012 has reflected our ongoing commitment to safe, high-quality patient care,” said Michael Bushell, President of St. Anne’s. “Over the past year, we’ve continued to invest in new technology that helps us provide a superior patient experience, including our first-in-Massachusetts robotic-assisted spine surgery tool. Our providers and staff look forward to continuing to provide professional, safe and compassionate care to our community.”

The Leapfrog Group is a national organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The 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.

“Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals like Saint Anne’s that focus on advancing patient safety. This ranking provides an important resource for patients, and a benchmark for hospitals, to determine how care at one hospital compares to others in a region,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Hospitals that earn an A Hospital Safety Grade deserve to be recognized for their efforts in preventing medical harm and errors.”

Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

Just one of 42 U.S. hospitals to be awarded Straight A’s since 2012 for patient safety, Saint Anne’s is one of 855 hospitals across the United States to be awarded an A in the Fall 2018 update of grades. To see Saint Anne’s Hospital’s full grade details, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.

About Saint Anne’s Hospital
Founded by the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation in 1906, Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Massachusetts, is a full-service, acute care Catholic hospital with 211 beds and satellite locations in Attleboro, Swansea, Dartmouth, New Bedford, and Stoughton, Massachusetts. A member of Steward Health Care, Saint Anne’s provides nationally recognized patient- and family-centered inpatient care and outpatient clinical services to patients from surrounding Massachusetts and Rhode Island communities. Recent recognitions include “Straight A’s” for patient safety since 2012 and the 2017 Top Hospital award from the Leapfrog Group; Women’s Choice Awards as one of America’s best hospitals for cancer care and orthopedic care; dual Patient Safety Excellence and Outstanding Patient Experience awards from Healthgrades. Saint Anne’s key services include Center for Orthopedic Excellence; multiple robotic-assisted surgical capabilities; Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center; two ambulatory surgery centers; the Center for Pain Management; a spine center; and inpatient geriatric psychiatry services.

About Steward Health Care
Steward Health Care is the nation’s largest private, for-profit physician led health care network in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Steward operates 36 hospitals in the United States and the country of Malta that regularly receive top awards for quality and safety. The company employs approximately 40,000 health care professionals. The Steward network includes multiple urgent care centers and skilled nursing facilities, substantial behavioral health services, over 7,900 beds under management, and approximately 2.2 million full risk covered lives through the company's managed care and health insurance services. The total number of paneled lives within Steward's integrated care network is projected to reach three million in 2018.

The Steward Health Care Network includes 5,000 physicians across 800 communities who help to provide more than 12 million patient encounters per year. Steward Medical Group, the company's employed physician group, provides more than six million patient encounters per year. The Steward Hospital Group operates hospitals in Malta and nine states across the U.S., including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah.

About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

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