West Valley Medical Center receives 16th prestigious 'A' grade for safety
West Valley Medical Center received an ‘A’ grade in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing West Valley’s achievements in protecting patients from harm and providing safer healthcare. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade assigns an ‘A' - ‘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.
West Valley achieved “Straight A” status by earning at least 5 “A”s in a row – this being the facility’s 13th consecutive “A” grade – 16th overall.
“Safety is at the forefront of everything we do here at West Valley, so this grade is something we work hard every day to achieve. On top of our daily huddle and other safety protocols, we have implemented many proactive measures to ensure protection for all throughout the pandemic, including universal masking very early on,” said Betsy Hunsicker, West Valley Medical Center Chief Executive Officer. “I congratulate our entire team on this testament to their dedication and clinical excellence. This ‘A’ Safety Grade is one more element of comfort for our community in knowing they will receive the highest level of care at West Valley.”
“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 West Valley 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.”
Several initiatives contribute to the high level of patient safety at West Valley, including a multidisciplinary safety committee and a multitude of safety programs aimed at improving patient outcomes as well as enhancing each patient’s personal experience. Additionally, West Valley and HCA Healthcare’s Sepsis Predication and Optimization of Therapy (SPOT) is helping clinicians detect sepsis up to 18 hours sooner. The algorithm-driven, real-time sepsis alert system has been called a “smoke detector for sepsis”.
Another initiative, called enhanced surgical recovery, is helping patients achieve a more successful pre and post-surgical process. The program is aimed at utilizing effective pain management without opioids and reducing length of stay in the hospital for patients as well as potential complications.
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.
West Valley was awarded an ‘A’ grade today when Leapfrog updated grades for fall 2020. To see West Valley’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.