Mercy hospitals earn ‘A’ in patient safety survey

Mercy hospitals in Northwest Arkansas and Fort Smith have received A grades for keeping patients safe. The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit organization, has released its fall 2017 Hospital Safety Grades, and 832 hospitals, or 32% of those it surveyed, received an A, according to a news release.

The Hospital Safety Grades provide scores on how well hospitals keep their patients safe from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. More than 2,600 general acute-care hospitals in the United States were included in the survey.

“Patient safety is always our greatest priority, and we’re happy with The Leapfrog Group’s recognition that we are succeeding,” said Eric Pianalto, president of Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas. “Our mission is exceptional service and compassionate care, which naturally dovetails with patient safety.”

Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Hospital Fort Smith, was pleased the hospital has continued to score well on patient safety, “because it’s an area where we strive for excellence every day. This award acknowledges the skills and commitment of our entire team, including physicians and clinical caregivers and the co-workers who support them.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is updated every six months, in the spring and fall, and “is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public,” the release shows. “Using 30 evidence-based measures of patient safety, The Leapfrog Group calculated a numerical score for all eligible hospitals in the U.S.” The numerical score was converted into one of five letter grades: A, B, C, D or F.

Only five Arkansas hospitals received an A grade. Following are the other three: Magnolia Regional Medical Center in Magnolia, NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jonesboro and Ouachita County Medical Center in Camden.