West Valley Medical Center received an ‘A’ grade in the spring 2021 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 14th consecutive “A” grade – 17th overall.
“We have celebrated many safety milestones this year. Our colleagues are exceptional and place safety as a top priority in everything we do," said Betsy Hunsicker, West Valley Medical Center Chief Executive Officer. "Once again this continuous A safety grade is a reflection of the hard work of our entire team and their dedication to clinical excellence."
“An ‘A’ safety grade is an elite designation that your community should be proud of,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The past year has been extraordinarily difficult for hospitals, but West Valley Medical Center shows us it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.”
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 2,700 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.
Leapfrog announced West Valley's ‘A’ grade today as part of the spring 2021 grades. To see West Valley’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.