Mon General Hospital Awarded an “A” for Patient Safety by Hospital Safety Score℠

Mon General Hospital has been honored with an “A” Hospital Safety Score℠ by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The Hospital Safety Score℠ was calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel using publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections. U.S. hospitals were assigned an A, B, C, D or F for their safety.

“Safety is part of the culture at Mon General Hospital,” said Mon Health System President and CEO Darryl Duncan. “Our number one service standard is that we are ‘dedicated to providing a safe environment free from harm’ at the hospital. Mon General also received recognition from 2006-2010 for being in the top 5% nationally for patient safety.

“This ‘A’ score is a direct reflection on the efforts of the hospital’s highly skilled and caring front line caregivers, employees and physicians, who provide outstanding care each and every day for the patients we serve,” Duncan said. “The number one focus of our staff is to ensure that the safety and well-being of our patients is the top priority in every decision and action they take.”

“It’s The Leapfrog Group’s goal to give patients the information they need and deserve before even entering a hospital,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group. “We congratulate the hospitals that earned an ‘A’ and we look forward to the day when all hospitals in the U.S. will earn the highest scores for putting patient safety first.”

To see Mon General Hospital’s scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, the Hospital Safety Score℠ website, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay. Mon General is among three hospitals in the state to receive an “A” rating.

Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group’s nine-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The panel includes: John Birkmeyer (University of Michigan), Ashish Jha (Harvard University), Lucian Leape (Harvard University), Arnold Millstein (Stanford University), Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins University), Patrick Romano (University of California, Davis), Sara Singer (Harvard University), Tim Vogus (Vanderbilt University), and Robert Wachter (University of California, San Francisco).

About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders, and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.

About Mon General Hospital
Mon General Hospital is a 189-bed acute care community hospital. The hospital features all private inpatient rooms, a Women’s Imaging Center, a large Emergency Department and a state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit. The hospital recently opened its new Zelda Stein Weiss Cancer Center and a new Orthopedic Center featuring four operating rooms. A new dedicated Endoscopy Center will open this summer and the hospital is in the process of expanding its Birth Center.