UM BWMC Recognized By Leapfrog Group For Patient Safety

Glen Burnie, MD – The University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC) was awarded an 'A' in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing UM BWMC's achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care. This marks the third consecutive reporting period UM BWMC has received an 'A' rating. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of health care 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 all general hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.

"UM BWMC's continued commitment to providing the highest level of care for our patients is a testament to the staff that come to work every day and save lives," said Karen E. Olscamp, FACHE, UM BWMC President and CEO. "We are honored to be recognized for our excellence in patient safety and offering best-in-class care to the community."

"'A' hospitals show us their leadership is protecting patients from preventable medical harm and error," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "It takes genuine commitment at every level – from clinicians to administrators to the board of directors – and we congratulate the teams who have worked so hard to earn this A."

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. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade's methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.