Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center recently received an “A” grade in the Fall 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. It marks the sixth straight year Saint Mary’s downtown Reno hospital has received a Leapfrog award, earning 11 consecutive “A” grades in the category of patient safety, according to a Nov. 17 press release. “An ‘A’ Safety Grade is a tremendous achievement, of which this community should be extremely proud,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in a statement. “I thank the leadership and workforce of Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center for its commitment to prioritizing patients and their safety, especially during these trying times.” The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns m“A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grades to hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents and infections. “Earning an ‘A’ for Patient Safety is a direct result of the dedication and hard work of our physicians, nurses, and frontline staff,” Tiffany Coury, CEO of Saint Mary’s Health Network, said in a statement. “We are proud to remain the highest rated acute care hospital in Nevada.” The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring. The award comes in addition to Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center being named one of the nation’s Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals by Fortune and IBM Watson Health. According to a Nov. 17 press release, the annual Fortune/IBM 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study spotlights leading short-term, acute care, non-federal US hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients. Saint Mary’s was the only hospital in Nevada to receive this national recognition. Based on methodology used by Watson Health, the study concludes if all U.S. hospitals' cardiovascular service lines performed at the level of the study winners, roughly 6,400 additional lives and $1.4 billion could be saved, and 5,000 additional bypass and angioplasty patients could be complication-free. “Despite the challenges of COVID-19, the hospitals recognized on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals list are providing quality care in one of the most critical areas,” Ekta Punwani, 100 Top Hospitals Program Leader for IBM Watson Health, said in a statement. “Hospitals are constantly working to improve clinical and operational performance, and the exceptional organizations on this list demonstrate the standard for top performing cardiac care. Their benchmarks serve as a real-world checkpoint for cardiovascular care across the U.S.” This year's study included 951 U.S. hospitals with cardiovascular service lines. “This accomplishment is a testament to our mission of quality, award winning care and the dedication and expertise of our cardiology team,” Coury stated. Go here for the full 2021 list from Fortune and IBM Watson Health.
