Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 16, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 11 During that same period we have also earned a 4-Star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. We've been named one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals by IBM Watson Health™, and were recently named a 2019-2020 Best Regional Hospital by U.S. News & World Report. This consistent top-level performance, as evaluated by objective third party organizations, recognizes Saint Francis' efforts to protect patients from harm, provide safer health care and a better patient experience. We work relentlessly to provide the safest care to our patients. These honors are based on the important steps we take every day to protect our patients from harm: • Communicating with patients about their medications and discharge instructions • Quadruple-checking medication orders to ensure patients receive the right medicine in the right dose at the right time • Training our staff and leadership to listen and work collaboratively to reduce errors These actions—and many others—have resulted in lower infection rates, fewer patient falls, and decreased surgical errors. Patient safety is a top priority for all our hospital's employees, and our "A" grade from The Leapfrog Group acknowledges our efforts. Where you get your healthcare matters. Patients at Saint Francis now know they're being cared for at one of the safest hospitals in our area, and in fact, the country. stfranciscare.org Where You Get Your Health Care Matters Did you know that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States? It's alarming data such as this that make patient safety ratings necessary. And it's why understanding how hospitals are graded and compared is so important. This Spring Saint Francis Hospital was awarded another "A" in patient safety from the Leapfrog Group. What exactly does this mean, and why should it matter to you? How does this award differ from others? Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, the Leapfrog Group is a national nonprot organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety. The grading criteria were developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, and use 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data. The Hospital Safety Grade's methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. This differs from other awards because the criteria are clear, the data is transparent, and there is no prot motive. These are meaningful differences that distinguish this recognition from others you may have heard of. Leapfrog awards are given out twice a year, spring and fall. 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, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care. This helps consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. Since the Fall of 2016, Saint Francis has received ve A's from The Leapfrog Group. John F. Rodis, M.D. President Saint Francis Hospital Value in Health Care

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