CARIBOU, Maine — Cary Medical Center has once again been nationally recognized with an A for the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing the hospital’s achievements in protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care.
This is the fourth consecutive time Cary has achieved the highest grade and joins only five Maine hospitals to accomplish this consistently high mark.
Cary has earned an A grade every year but one since Leapfrog instituted a letter grade in 2012 to measure the nation’s hospitals for their patient safety efforts. The facility is one of only 84 of the nation’s 2,600 general hospitals participating in the survey to have earned such distinction, and one of only three in Maine.
Kris Doody, RN and CEO, praised the efforts of hospital staff for their consistent high-level performance.
“This has been a very difficult year for all of us in health care,” said Doody, who has been Cary’s CEO for more than two decades.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged hospitals to give their best effort in protecting patients, families and staff. The fact that Cary has received this recognition for the fourth consecutive time under such conditions speaks to the dedication and team effort so much a part of our culture,” Doody said.
The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to all general hospitals across the country and is updated every six months. It is based on a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.
“We are extremely grateful to hospital leadership and health care workers who have remained steadfast in prioritizing patient safety as our nation battles COVID-19,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.
“This ‘A’ is a testament to the care and commitment of those who work for Cary Medical Center. With the current pandemic exposing existing flaws within the U.S. health care system, we appreciate you putting patient safety first. Lives depend on it,” Binder said.
Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 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.
