Adventist Health Glendale again tops area hospitals in safety study
Adventist Health Glendale aced yet another safety-care study conducted by a national hospital-safety organization.
The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., awarded its seventh straight A grade to Adventist Health Glendale, in its spring 2018 results released Tuesday. Leapfrog awards hospital safety grades twice a year based on a number of criteria that measure the quality of patient safety.
The group’s assessments consider a number of criteria from 30 categories, pooled together from sources such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These include rates of errors, injuries, accidents and infections.
In a statement, the hospital said the seventh consecutive high grade shows safe care is “ingrained” in its culture.
“Our physicians, nurses and associates are committed to creating a safe environment and reducing hospital acquired complications always. We want our community members to feel confident that at [Adventist], we put patient safety first,” said Despina Kayichian, vice president of medical affairs and quality at the hospital, in a statement.
Of the roughly 2,500 hospitals graded in the latest results, only 30% earned an A grade, according to the report.
Both Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital and USC Verdugo Hills Hospital received C grades. Neither hospital has earned a grade higher than C since 2015.
Glendale Memorial officials said in a statement that the facility is implementing numerous quality initiatives and hourly patient rounding.
“We take our responsibility to provide compassionate, quality care very seriously, and we are confident future ratings will reflect the magnitude of Glendale Memorial’s commitment to deliver the highest quality patient care in Glendale,” said Julie Sprengel, Dignity Health’s senior vice president of operations in the Southern California area.
In a statement, Verdugo Hills officials said future scores will more accurately present the hospital’s current quality and performance.
“The hospital has improved its scores across multiple patient-safety indicators that are not reflected in the most recent hospital safety grade from the Leapfrog Group, though other rating agencies have noted these improvements,” according to the statement. “Our recently opened neonatal intensive care unit provides an added safety measure for labor and delivery, and our hospitalist program ensures 24-hour inpatient supervision.”
According to a report on Leapfrog’s methodology, the data pulled from Medicare and other agencies to generate a composite score can be several years old.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
