The Leapfrog Group announced its fall 2019 hospital safety grades.
Lakeland Health Regional Medical Center received ‘C’ grade.
From Hal Escowitz, MD, Lakeland Regional Health Chief Quality Officer and Chief Medical Informatics Officer:
Today’s Leapfrog Safety Scorecard grades reported that we are a “C.”
At Lakeland Regional Health, we are committed to using evidence-based, reliable and high-quality processes to ensure patients receive the best outcomes and safest care while at our Medical Center. We are continuously working to ensure our organization’s quality and safety measures exceed industry standards for care. Our team members and leaders are not satisfied with anything less.
I’d like to share some factors to help you better understand the scoring:
1. The data reflected in this recently released Leapfrog score is based on results from July 2016 through December 2018, so it is somewhat dated. We are confident that our future Leapfrog scores will reflect the significant headway we’ve made since that period of time. For instance, since December 2018 alone, Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center implemented quality and performance initiatives that resulted in:
· 20% improvement in central line infections
· 25% reduction in hospital acquired C. Diff infections
· 75% decrease in respiratory complications after surgery
· 11% reduction in falls
To achieve such noteworthy results, physicians, nurses and support team members at the Medical Center use the most advanced technology to assist with patient assessment, most notably the Sepsis Crawler, an electronic system that monitors a patient’s vital signs and lab results, identifying patients who have early-onset blood infections so treatment can promptly begin. In addition, our Institute for Safety Discovery and Standard Work continues to implement innovative front-line changes in such areas as hand hygiene, reduced catheter use and antibiotic stewardship. Lakeland Regional Health is also pleased to collaborate with organizations like Mayo Clinic to share best practices and enhance our care processes for the patients and families we are privileged to serve.
2. The role of hospitals is rapidly changing. Medical care alone accounts for only 10 percent to 20 percent of a person’s health status, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The remainder is determined by a person’s behavior, socioeconomic status and environmental factors. This means those of us in healthcare have to work with patients and the community in entirely new ways to address social determinants that affect a person’s long-term wellness. At Lakeland Regional Health, we eagerly embrace this new era of innovation and collaboration to produce better health outcomes for those we serve.
3. To do this exceptional work at our hospital and out in the community, we need adequate funding. We are very grateful to our City Commissioners, Mayor and city leaders for freezing the amount of our city lease payments for the next five years. Our Medical Center continues to face crucial cuts in Medicaid funding, receiving $22 million less than we did five years ago. Beginning in 2017, we also could no longer rely on expanded Medicaid eligibility in Florida. In spite of drastically reduced government assistance, Lakeland Regional Health is steadfast in its commitment to serve as a vital safety-net hospital for our community, providing more than $24 million in charity care in FY2018.
Bartow Regional Medical Center received ‘D’ grade.
From BayCare the owner of Bartow Regional Medical Center:
BayCare’s number one priority is quality outcomes, including safe patient care. We participated in the Leapfrog survey for the first time this year. The survey questions are open to interpretation and are primarily based on process. Health systems can still achieve great outcomes through different process methods. In our journey to be best-in-class, we will continue to measure quality outcomes through multiple data sources including IBM Watson Health, which ranks BayCare as one of the top-performing large health systems in the nation.
Hospital safety grades focus on how hospitals protect patients from errors, accidents, hospital-related injuries and communications.
Lakeland Health Regional Medical Center received a ‘C’ grade.
Bartow Regional Medical Center received a ‘D’ grade.
Hospital safety grades focus on how hospitals protect patients from errors, accidents, hospital-related injuries, and communications.