University of Chicago Medicine gets A for safety

November 28, 2012

The University of Chicago Medicine received an A grade in hospital safety, according to a national nonprofit group's survey of more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals.

The rankings, released today by The Leapfrog Group, included updated information from its original June survey. In the June report, University of Chicago Medicine also received an A. The latest report includes for the first time hospitals that got a D or F rating.

"All of us are extremely pleased and proud of the findings of The Leapfrog Group," said Stephen Weber, MD, the University of Chicago Medicine's chief medical officer. "It is gratifying to see the hard work of our providers and all of the staff who support them recognized with a distinction like this. That said, while recognition from organizations such as The Leapfrog Group and others will always be appreciated, our greatest satisfaction comes from the knowledge that we are providing the highest standard of quality and safe care to our patients."

Of the 2,618 U.S. hospitals in the survey, 790 earned an A, while 678 received a B. Of the 118 Illinois hospitals rated by the national organization of health care buyers, 51 earned an A and 31 received a B grade, while five received an F.

"Leapfrog's primary mission is to create a more transparent health care system, where consumers can access the information they need to make critical decisions about where to seek care -- and where that in turn will drive a much needed change in the market," Keith Reissaus, board chairman of The Leapfrog Group, said in a statement.

The rankings were calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group's nine-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, which includes: John Birkmeyer (University of Michigan), Ashish Jha (Harvard University), Lucian Leape (Harvard University), Arnold Milstein (Stanford University), Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins University), Patrick Romano (University of California, Davis), Sara Singer (Harvard University), Tim Vogus (Vanderbilt University) and Robert Wachter (University of California, San Francisco).

The score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital's overall success in keeping patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. To see the ratings of Illinois hospitals, go to hospitalsafetyscore.org.