Blessing Hospital receives fourth consecutive top patient safety grade

QUINCY — An independent national healthcare watchdog organization has given Blessing Hospital a grade of “A” for patient safety for the fourth 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.

Around one-third of hospitals surveyed typically receive a grade of ‘A.’ According to a story published May 11 in Health News Illinois, Blessing was one of 33 of the 116 Illinois hospitals that participate in the Leapfrog patient safety program to get a top grade for the latest survey period. In addition to receiving the top grade for the spring 2022 survey, Blessing earned ‘A’ grades 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, “As health care systems continue to feel the strain of the pandemic, I thank the caregivers and leadership of Blessing Hospital for a sustained commitment to patient safety, day in and day out. An ‘A’ safety grade is an outstanding achievement, and one that is not possible without a 24/7 effort by the entire health care workforce to protect patients from harm. The communities served by Blessing Hospital should be proud.”

“I didn’t think I could be more proud of our providers and Blessing Hospital staff than I was during their pandemic response,” said Maureen Kahn, president/chief executive officer of Blessing Health System/Blessing Hospital. “But their accomplishments in patient safety clearly show that while they were dealing with a vicious virus and the enormous demand for care it caused, the Blessing Hospital team remained sharply focused on patient safety.”

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