Virginia among Top Three States in National Patient Safety Ranking

November 12, 2018

New Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Grade Scores show 34 Virginia Hospitals Earning “A” Grades as Community Hospitals across the Commonwealth Continue to Earn Accolades for Excellence in Patient Safety and Experience

RICHMOND, VA – Virginia is a top three state in the Fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade scores from the Leapfrog Group. The state rankings reflect the number of “A” graded hospitals in a given state. In all, 34 Virginia hospitals received “A” grades from Leapfrog, a national health care patient safety ranking organization. The latest Leapfrog results, which show Virginia moving up from number five to number three on the list, are a positive reflection of the ongoing work being done at Virginia’s community hospitals and health systems to enhance health care quality, safety, and service for patients.

“Virginia’s third place ranking is a testament to the commitment by Virginia hospitals and health systems to prioritize health care quality and patient safety,” said Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. “The Fall 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades’ recognition of 34 hospitals as ‘A’ rated providers demonstrates that while our hospitals will always work to be better, their daily efforts to deliver higher quality care to patients are producing positive results.”

Health care quality and patient safety improvement is a strategic priority for VHHA and its member hospitals and health systems in the Commonwealth. VHHA’s Center for Healthcare Excellence serves as a facilitator for collaborative efforts on a wide range of quality and safety improvement initiatives focused on enhancing patient experience, and reducing harm as part of the broader goal of making Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. The Center for Healthcare Excellence was launched in January 2015 under the guidance of the VHHA Board of Directors.

Since then, the Center has taken a leading role in engaging with the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks (HIIN) program in Virginia. Earlier this year, VHHA was named the recipient of the “2018 HRET HIIN Quality Award” presented by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Health Research & Education Trust (HRET). The award recognizes a state hospital association for demonstrating exemplary dedication and leadership in advancing the quality and safety of health care for patients. VHHA’s HIIN work builds on momentum from the predecessor Hospital Engagement Networks (HEN) initiative that in its second phase resulted in the prevention of 1,851 patient harm incidents at 35 participating hospitals (equivalent to more than $16.5 million in health care costs savings) across the Commonwealth. And last year, Virginia was ranked among the top 10 states in an assessment of health care quality based on the annual National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (QDR) released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Also last year, VHHA released its Patient and Family Experience tools to support hospitals and clinical staff in an effort to make patients and their families feel welcome and comfortable as partners in the care and treatment process. These tools, which can be accessed through the Patient and Family Experience page on the VHHA.com website, include the new Patient and Family Experience Improvement Guide and the Virginia Hospital Patient Experience Data Dashboard.

In addition to pursuing organizational improvement, Virginia’s hospitals have also demonstrated a commitment to transparency by making the Quality and Patient Safety Scorecards tool publicly available online through VHHA’s website. The scorecards measure quality and patient safety performance in Virginia’s hospitals on metrics including health care-associated infections, patient safety, hospital readmission rates, mortality data, patient satisfaction, and the efficiency of Medicare spending per beneficiary.

The Leapfrog program has been assigning letter grades to general acute care hospitals in the U.S. since 2012. Across the country, hospitals have made remarkable strides in improving patient safety. In recent years, Virginia hospitals have consistently scored well in the Leapfrog rankings. In the latest rankings, 34 of 66 Virginia hospitals evaluated by Leapfrog earned “A” grades, placing the Commonwealth third among states in the nation. Current “A” rated Virginia hospitals include:

• Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center
• Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital
• Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center
• Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital
• Carilion New River Valley Medical Center
• CJW Medical Center – Chippenham Campus (HCA Virginia)
• CJW Medical Center – Johnston-Willis Campus (HCA Virginia)
• Clinch Valley Medical Center (LifePoint Health)
• Henrico Doctors’ Hospital (HCA Virginia)
• Inova Alexandria Hospital
• Inova Fair Oaks Hospital
• Inova Fairfax Hospital
• Inova Loudoun Hospital
• Inova Mount Vernon Hospital
• LewisGale Hospital Alleghany (HCA Virginia)
• LewisGale Hospital Montgomery (HCA Virginia)
• LewisGale Medical Center (HCA Virginia)
• Lonesome Pine Hospital (Ballad Health)
• Mary Washington Hospital
• Mountain View Regional Hospital (Ballad Health)
• Norton Community Hospital (Ballad Health)
• Novant Health UVA Health System Haymarket Medical Center
• Novant Health UVA Health System Prince William Medical Center
• Parham Doctors’ Hospital (HCA Virginia)
• Retreat Doctors’ Hospital (HCA Virginia)
• Sentara CarePlex Hospital
• Sentara Leigh Hospital
• Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital
• Sentara Obici Hospital
• Sentara Princess Anne Hospital
• Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center
• Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center (HCA Virginia)
• Stafford Hospital (Mary Washington Healthcare)
• Virginia Hospital Center

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 110 hospitals and 27 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its vision is to achieve excellence in both health care and health by fostering collaboration that helps make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and ISupportVirginiaHospitals.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Julian Walker
Vice President of Communications
(804) 297-3193 office
(804) 304-7402 mobile
jtwalker@vhha.com