Keck Hospital of USC earned an ‘A’ grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national patient safety watchdog, in the Spring 2020 release of the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. This rating places Keck Hospital among the safest hospitals in the United States and follows the hospital’s Fall 2019 “A” grade.
“Our ‘A’ hospital safety grade reflects the continued dedication of our physicians and staff who continually make patient safety and well-being their top priority day in and day out,” said Rod Hanners, COO of Keck Medicine of USC and CEO of Keck Medical Center of USC. “We are thrilled to be recognized nationally for our commitment to exceptional care, especially now while our health care workers remain on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Keck Hospital’s “A” grade is the result of a strict adherence to comprehensive quality and safety programs and a dedication to continuous improvement projects.
“I am so proud of all of our teams and their many achievements that impact quality across the hospital,” said Stephanie Hall, MD, MHA, chief medical officer of Keck Hospital. “Together, we have successfully expanded our quality improvement efforts and data collection procedures to fully reflect our high standards and outcomes. Our health system continually invests in technology to ensure the safest and highest quality care, and our ranking shows just that.”
USC Verdugo Hills Hospital also received good news in the form of a ‘B’ grade, an improvement from previous grading periods. This improved score reflects multiple enhancements to the hospital’s care protocols, including the addition of its hospitalist, OB/GYN hospitalist and intensivist programs.
The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization, uses up to 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign letter grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The grading methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.
To see Keck Hospital’s full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.
— Alison Rainey