The Economic Alliance for Michigan Announces Release of Latest Hospital
Safety Scores as Michigan Hospitals Receive New Patient Safety Grades

Nationwide 31-percent of Hospitals Score an ‘A,’ Continued Emphasis on
Safety Needed

Novi, Michigan October 29, 2014 – Updated Hospital Safety Scores- the “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grades assigned to more than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals- were released today by patient safety advocate The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit organization representing employer purchasers of health care. The Scores are based on preventable infections, injuries and errors, and grades were assigned to 79 hospitals in Michigan with 23 receiving an “A,” the highest letter grade. The LeapFrog Group has selected the Economic Alliance for Michigan (EAM) as the regional roll-out coordinator for hospital quality and safety data in Michigan.

“The Economic Alliance for Michigan wants to recognize Michigan hospitals for demonstrating they have made the well-being of their patients a top priority.  In the Detroit area, Botsford Hospital and Harper-Hutzel Hospital.  In the Ann Arbor area, University of Michigan Hospitals.  In the Grand Rapids area, Spectrum Health and Mercy Health St. Mary’s.  Plus Mercy Memorial in
Monroe and Dickinson County Healthcare in Iron Mountain,” said Bret Jackson, EAM President. “Hospital errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease and cancer – a fact that serves to highlight the crucial need to put safety first in our hospitals. We hope these hospitals will continue to strive for a consistent level of safety excellence and that other area hospitals will follow that example.”

The Hospital Safety Score is designed to give the public information they can use to protect themselves and their families whenever faced with a hospital stay. The Score is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, 100-percent transparent and free to the public. A full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades is available, as always, on the newly re-launched website, which now also includes consumer-friendly videos and tips for patients and their loved
ones. Visit the site at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

“We want to turn patients into savvy health care shoppers by enabling them to take an active role in selecting a hospital. By evaluating hospitals based on important safety measures and grading them accordingly, we can help consumers make smarter choices for themselves and their families,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog, which administers the Hospital Safety Score. “Those hospitals receiving an ‘A’ today should be proud of their record, as they are helping us to raise the standards of health care and transparency nationwide. The local community should take note of that.”

“Michigan citizens should use every resource available to protect themselves when planning for a hospital visit, including the Hospital Safety Score. For our part, we will continue to use the Hospital Safety Score in Michigan as a tool to educate the public while working with physicians, nurses and other clinicians to improve patient safety in our community,” said Jackson.
“Additionally, we will continue to use the Hospital Safety Score to work with our employer and purchaser members on contracting, value-based purchasing, benefits design and employee educational programs to spur safety improvements in our hospitals.”

Calculated under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Panel of patient safety experts, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score that represents a hospital’s overall performance in patient safety. Leapfrog’s Score is the only tool available today that focuses exclusively on errors, injuries and infections.

For more information on the Hospital Safety Score, or to find out the score of your local hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org. A Hospital Safety Score mobile app is also available for download.