UM St. Joseph Medical Center Earns Fourth Straight ‘A’ for Patient Safety in Spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade
For the fourth consecutive grading period, University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center has been awarded an 'A' in Patient Safety from The Leapfrog Group. This latest designation, earned according to the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, follows the hospital's three previous Grade 'A's", awarded in fall 2018, spring 2019 and fall 2019, respectively.
This national recognition underscores UM St. Joseph's vigilant and continuous work in protecting patients from harm and providing safe, quality health care. The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for healthcare consumers throughout the nation. 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.
"Being recognized for the fourth time in a row is a testament to our staff's relentless daily focus on patient safety," said UM St. Joseph Medical Center President and CEO Thomas B. Smyth, MD. "Particularly now, during this time of heightened concern for the ongoing safety of our patients, staff and community, we are overwhelmingly proud of this accomplishment. This continuing Leapfrog Grade 'A' recognition is a sign to our patients, our colleagues and our community that we are driving sustained excellence in clinical care across our full spectrum of health care services. Our community can feel confident that UM St. Joseph is committed to providing loving service and safe, high-quality, compassionate care now and always."
"As the nation copes with a challenging pandemic, our gratitude extends to hospital leadership and health care workers everywhere for their tremendous dedication," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "We hope this 'A' helps to thank the people who work and volunteer for UM St. Joseph Medical Center. They are role models in putting patients first, and their service has been extraordinary in our country's time of need."
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.
"In times of crisis, trusting your hospital is more crucial than ever," said Dr. Smyth. "We're proud to honor our community's faith in UM St. Joseph."
To see UM SJMC's full grade details, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.
About UM St. Joseph Medical Center
UM St. Joseph Medical Center (UM SJMC), founded in 1864 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, is a 218-bed Catholic, not-for-profit regional medical center in Towson, Maryland. A member of the 13-hospital University of Maryland Medical System, UM SJMC is located in suburban Baltimore County, and offers a wide range of superb clinical programs and centers of excellence, including the Cancer, Heart and Orthopaedic Institutes, Women and Children's services and Emergency Medicine. Our mission: To provide loving service and compassionate, leading-edge care to all. For more information, visit umstjoseph.org
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 and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC 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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