When you’re getting treatment for an illness or injury, the last thing you should ever have to worry about is whether or not your hospital is providing the best possible care. That’s why patient safety has always been our top priority and also why we’re so proud to announce UM Charles Regional Medical Center has received an ‘A’ grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization committed to improving health care quality and safety.
What an ‘A’ Grade Means for You
Whether it’s you or someone you know, a patient at UM Charles Regional Medical Center should always receive the highest level of care in a safe environment designed to protect them from infections, accidental falls, and more.
“Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals like UM Charles Regional Medical Center that focus on advancing patient safety,” The Leapfrog Group President and CEO Leah Binder said. “This ranking provides an important resource for patients, and a benchmark for hospitals, to determine how care at one hospital compares to others in a region.”
Since UM Charles Regional Medical Center received the last biannual grade this past spring, our rating increased by two letter grades. This is a reflection of our ongoing efforts to promote a culture of safety and represents improvements made across every level of patient care.
How Hospitals Are Graded
Developed under the guidance of a panel of national health care experts, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of hospital safety data points to assign grades to more than 2,600 hospitals twice per year. Available for free to the public, the findings are peer reviewed and fully transparent to ensure everyone is able to make the right choice about where they receive care.
Although patients ultimately decide what safety factors are most important to them, the grading system is based on a variety of measures, including:
- Hand Hygiene
- Fall Prevention
- Communication Accuracy
- Infection Prevention
- Doctor and Staff Responsiveness
How Many Hospitals Receive an ‘A’ Grade
In fall 2018, UM Charles Regional Medical Center was one of just 855 acute care hospitals in the United States to receive this designation. That means only 32% of hospitals graded received an ‘A’ for their efforts to maintain a high level of patient safety.
To learn more about our grade or for additional information about how patient safety affects you, visit The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Grade website.