Elkhart General ranks among safest hospitals in the country
Elkhart General Hospital has been awarded an A grade for safety measures from the Leapfrog Group. The national distinction recognizes Elkhart General’s efforts and accomplishments to protect patients from harm and providing safer health care.
Earning the highest possible rating is a testament to the steadfast commitment of physicians, clinicians and the entire team to making patient safety a top priority, said Carl Risk, president of Elkhart General, which is part of Beacon Health System.
“This high achievement truly represents the dedication and focus of our physicians, providers and associates to ensure that we are providing the highest patient safety and quality of care to the communities we serve,” Risk said. “Our team keeps patient safety top of mind at all times, and this national recognition certainly reaffirms the great care we provide at Elkhart General Hospital.”
The Leapfrog Group is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. Leapfrog produces a report and assigns grades to more than 2,600 acute care U.S. hospitals twice per year, once in the spring and once in the fall.
Leapfrog released its fall 2019 patient safety rankings on Thursday.
Safety Grades are based on 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data, including a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care. The methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.
Leah Binder, president and chief executive of the Leapfrog Group, said hospitals that receive an A grade demonstrate to healthcare consumers that their leadership is protecting patients from preventable medical harm and error. “It takes genuine commitment at every level – from clinicians to administrators to the board of directors – and we congratulate the teams who have worked so hard to earn this A,” Binder said.
