Two Valley Health System Hospitals Nationally Recognized With an "A" Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade
Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center received its inaugural “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade and Henderson Hospital earned its 8th consecutive “A” grade for spring 2022. This national distinction recognizes both acute care hospitals’ achievements in protecting patients from preventable harm and error in the hospital.
“This is a wonderful accomplishment for our hospitals,” said Karla Perez, Regional Vice President, Acute Care Division, Universal Health Services, which is the parent company of The Valley Health System. “Desert Springs Hospital leaders and employees have worked tirelessly to achieve their first 'A' while the Henderson Hospital team has sustained their 'A' through eight consecutive cycles. We are continually measuring and evaluating our safety processes and protocols, ensuring we’re incorporating best practices. Choosing to work in a hospital means a commitment to constantly educating oneself, embracing quality improvement and always putting patient safety at the forefront of everything we do.”
See Full Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade Details
“I’m incredibly proud of our Desert Springs Hospital team,” said Chris Loftus, CEO of Desert Springs Hospital. “Our mission is to provide great healthcare, and keeping our patients safe from harm is the foundation of the care we provide. We use every available tool to help us continually improve our patients’ experience, whether it’s the Leapfrog criteria or earning accreditations for specialties in cardiac care. It takes incredible commitment and teamwork to achieve these hard-earned grades and accreditations, and knowing we continually improved over the past three years to earn this award despite the pandemic is a testament to our employees, medical staff and leadership.”
Henderson Hospital earned its 8th consecutive "A" grade since opening in late 2016. “Despite extraordinary circumstances over the past several years, we’ve maintained our top priority – to keep our patients safe from harm while diagnosing and treating their medical conditions,” said Sam Kaufman, CEO of Henderson Hospital. “This is a massive team effort, and the credit goes to our employees, medical staff and leaders.”
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
"As our healthcare system continues to feel the strain of the pandemic, I thank the workforce and leadership of these hospitals for sustained commitment to patient safety, day in and day out,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An 'A' Safety Grade is an outstanding achievement, and one that is not possible without a 24/7 effort by the entire healthcare workforce to protect patients from harm. This community should be proud."