Central Coast Hospitals Announce Superior Safety Scores

The Dignity Health hospitals of the Central Coast, which include Arroyo Grande Community Hospital (AGCH), French Hospital Medical Center (FHMC), and Marian Regional Medical Center (MRMC), are pleased to share a recent rating report from The Leapfrog Group, which focuses on patient safety.

The group, a leading hospital ratings organization, awards hospitals based on safety, quality of care and value metrics. All three hospitals, AGCH, FHMC and MRMC, received a letter grade of “A.” The Leapfrog Group scores an “A” to hospitals that achieve the best hospital safety performance score, using a set of 28 national measures. This is yet another documented example of how Dignity Health continuously strives to ensure that our patients receive the highest level of care and compassion.

The Leapfrog Group provides consumers ranked statistics and informative data for selecting a medical center. The premise of the group is to provide accessibility to the public while allowing medical facilities the opportunity to measure improvements.  Dignity Health actively participates in the program, and the process offers a calculable opportunity for standardized advancements in the care, safety and quality of our patients. 

“Quality, safety, and service are at the heart of everything we do for our patients.  Each extra effort and moment we take can make the difference to ensuring our patients’ comfort and safety.  Our physicians, employees and volunteers are committed to providing the highest possible care for our patients and we appreciate The Leapfrog Group’s acknowledgment of our results. These publicly reported ratings will allow patients to make more informed decision about their care,” says Gene Keller, M.D., Vice President for Quality for the Dignity Health Central Coast hospitals.

Dr. Keller adds, “We voluntarily participate in many other quality and performance initiatives. Leapfrog is one of many similar reports that measure quality and safety that may be used by consumers in making an informed decision about their care.”

Leapfrog’s hospital safety scores are calculated under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, and the ratings represent a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 general U.S. hospitals were assigned safety scores this fall. A full analysis of the data and methodology used is available at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

Leah Binder, President and CEO of Leapfrog, emphasizes the importance of patients knowing a hospital is safe. “As patients begin to take a more active role in selecting where to receive health care, it has never been more important to focus on hospital safety and transparency. The ‘A’ hospitals, including Dignity Health hospitals of the Central Coast, are helping us to raise the standards of health care nationwide,” she says.        

Dignity Health hospitals of the Central Coast continuously strive to provide renowned care, advanced technology and compassion throughout our spectrum of services.  Our commitment to excellence and our levels of skillful practice continue to distinguish us as leaders in the industry. 

About Dignity Health of the Central Coast

Dignity Health of the Central Coast is an integrated network of top quality hospitals, physicians from the most prestigious medical schools, and comprehensive outpatient services including primary care offices, premier ambulatory surgery centers, technologically-advanced laboratories and imaging centers and a full service home health agency; all recognized for quality, safety and service.  Each hospital is supported by an active philanthropic Foundation to help meet the growing health care needs of our communities. For more information visit www.arroyograndehospital.org; www.frenchmedicalcenter.org; www.marianmedicalcenter.org 

About The Leapfrog Group

The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.