CARIBOU, Maine — The Leapfrog Group, the nation’s leading nonprofit watchdog on hospital quality and safety, on Oct. 30 announced its new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, and Cary Medical Center once again earned an “A.”
The organization evaluates hospitals twice per year on a variety of safety parameters. Monday’s rating is Cary’s second consecutive A rating this year.
Cary has achieved straight A’s since the inception of the safety grade in 2012, and is one of only 56 hospitals nationwide to earn an A rating again in this latest round.
Cary Chief Executive Officer Kris Doody, RN, said that establishing a safe environment for patients is a critical responsibility for hospitals.
“Our patients expect and deserve the confidence that we are doing all we can to keep them safe when they put their care in our hands,” said Doody, who has made patient safety and patient experience a major theme of her leadership since 1999.
“Earlier this year we received notification that Cary was one of only 63 hospitals in America to attain straight ‘A’s since 2012. A second ‘A’ score this year, and now [we are] one of only 56 hospitals nationwide to again attain this honor — this is an even greater confirmation that our entire organization is committed to this effort.”
Developed under the guidance of panel of hospital safety experts, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.
“Straight ‘A’ hospitals are a rare breed. Not only do they achieve the highest national standards for safety, but they consistently maintain that level of excellence,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “That means that they put the well-being of their patients first, every hour of every day, year after year. We are proud to recognize their tireless commitment.”
Cary was also recently notified that the hospital has been awarded the 2018 Women’s Choice Award as one of America’s Best Hospitals for Patient Experience in Obstetrics for the fifth time.
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization focused on the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital 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.
