Several California Hospitals Ranked High in Patient Safety
A recent post on patch.com discusses the California hospitals identified as the safest and least safe, as reported by the Leapfrog Group.
According to its website, the Leapfrog Group was “[f]ounded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers….[and] is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions.”
The group’s fall 2016 report ranked California 26th in the nation for hospital safety, based on a variety of factors including patient injuries, accidents, and infections.
- Local “A” ranked facilities included: Chino Valley Medical Center; Eisenhower Medical Center; Kaiser Permanente Medical Center (Fontana and Ontario); Redlands Community Hospital; and Temecula Valley Hospital.
- Local “B” ranked facilities included: Kaiser Permanente (Moreno Valley Community Hospital and Riverside Medical Center); and Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta.
- Local “C” ranked facilities included: Community Hospital of San Bernardino; Corona Regional Medical Center; Hemet Valley Medical Center; Loma Linda University Medical Center; Loma Linda University Medical Center East Campus; Riverside Community Hospital; Riverside University Health System – Medical Center; San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital; and St. Joseph Health Saint Mary.
- Local “D” ranked facilities included: Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center; St. Bernardine Medical Center; Desert Valley Hospital; and Victor Valley Community Hospital.
Of the nine California hospitals receiving an “F” grade in the report, three are local to the Inland Empire: Arrowhead Regional Medical Center; Inland Valley Medical Center; and Rancho Springs Medical Center.
The patch.com post reports the goal of the findings were to determine a patient’s risk of further injury or infection if they visited a certain hospital. Whether the findings are actually useful to patients is unclear. Many factors control where a patient either initially presents, or ultimately receives, treatment, particularly in an emergency. Furthermore, medical malpractice can be committed in any medical situation, whether the hospital is ranked with an “A” or an “F”. Lastly, the true motivations of the Leapfrog Group’s report must be considered. Who are their members? Are there any biases, implicit or otherwise? For example, no Kaiser facility received below a “C”, with most receiving an “A” or a “B”. Is this truly reflective of the level of safety provided?
Blog posted by Sara Morgan.
Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/phalinn/
