Blessing Hospital earns fifth straight top safety score from Leapfrog Group

QUINCY — An independent national healthcare watchdog organization has given Blessing Hospital a grade of A for patient safety for the fifth consecutive survey period.

The Leapfrog Group, founded by 2,000 large employers and other purchasers of healthcare, assigns a letter grade of A through F every six months to approximately 2,900 general hospitals across the country. Grades are based on more than 30 performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents, infections and the systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

Typically, around one-third of hospitals surveyed receive a grade of A. Blessing earned A grades during the spring and fall 2022 surveys, for both survey periods in 2021 and the fall survey period of 2020.

In a press release, Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said, “I applaud the hospital leadership and workforce for their strong commitment to safety and transparency. An A safety grade is a sign that hospitals are continuously evaluating their performance so that they can best protect patients. The Blessing Hospital team should be extremely proud of its dedication and achievement.”

“Patient safety is personal to each Blessing Hospital caregiver,” said Maureen Kahn, president and chief executive officer of Blessing Health. “These skilled and compassionate people are caring for fellow human beings. They are not only patients but loved ones – they are grandparents, parents, spouses, aunts and uncles and dear friends. Blessing caregivers keep a clear focus on patient safety for professional pride, because they know that their commitment and focus is deserved by everyone who entrusts their care to Blessing Hospital.”

Mary Frances Barthel, chief quality and safety officer at Blessing Health, adds that perseverance of staff is required because healthcare providers are humans and humans are not perfect, and no process or procedure is foolproof.

“Patient safety is not a one-time accomplishment,” she said. “Blessing Hospital caregivers must re-earn their A grade with each patient, each day. That makes earning a patient safety grade of A for two-and-a-half years running especially noteworthy.”

To see Blessing Hospital’s grade details, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.

In Illinois, 113 hospitals were rated, with 30 hospitals receiving A grades, 25 scoring B grades and 50 others getting C grades. Seven state hospitals were given D grades, and one hospital earned an F rating.