UM St. Joseph Medical Center Earns National Safety Recognition For Seventh Consecutive Period
University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center (UM St. Joseph), a member of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), has once again been awarded an 'A' Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog focused on patient safety. This latest achievement marks UM St. Joseph's seventh consecutive award, placing the hospital among 241 institutions nationwide—and one of just two in the state of Maryland—to achieve this year-over-year distinction.
Leapfrog assigns an 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' 'D' or 'F' grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them. UM St. Joseph has received a total of 11 'A' ratings for patient safety from the Leapfrog Group.
"This achievement affirms our team's relentless commitment to providing exceptional care dedicated to our patients' safety and well-being," said Thomas B. Smyth, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of UM St. Joseph Medical Center. "Safety, excellence and compassion are the bedrock of our daily work, and we are especially proud of this latest Leapfrog award because of what it means for those we serve."
"Achieving an 'A' Hospital Safety Grade is a significant accomplishment for University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "It reflects enormous dedication to patients and their families, and the whole community should be proud. I extend my congratulations to UM St. Joseph, its leadership, clinicians, staff and volunteers for their tireless efforts to put patients first."
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade stands as the only hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day in the United States. This program is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
To see UM St. Joseph's full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.
About University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
Founded in 1864 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, UM St. Joseph Medical Center is a 221-bed Catholic, not-for-profit regional medical center in Towson, Maryland, that 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. The hospital's committed focus on zero patient harm, clinical excellence and perfect patient experiences spurred the creation of the hospital's unique approach to care, The UM St. Joseph Value Delivery System, and has consistently earned UM St. Joseph regional and national recognition for patient care and safety, including its ranking as the #1 community hospital in Maryland by U.S. News & World Report. UM St. Joseph is a proud member of the 11-hospital University of Maryland Medical System, dedicated to providing loving service and compassionate, leading-edge care to all.
About the University of Maryland Medical System
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high-quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore, who educate the state's future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System's anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit umms.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 for patient safety. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and 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.