Corresponding study reports selecting the right hospital can reduce your risk of avoidable death by 50 percent

Released:  April 25, 2016 – The Economic Alliance for Michigan (EAM) announced today the release of the April 2016 Hospital Safety Scores, published by national nonprofit watchdog The Leapfrog Group. Assigning A, B, C, D, and F letter grades, the Score provides the most complete picture of avoidable hospital errors, accidents and infections that kill or harm tens of thousands of patients every year. New for this update are the grading factors in five measures of patient experience that have been correlated with the hospital’s safety record, as well as two common and deadly infections, MRSA and C.diff.

A new report released alongside The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Score April 2016 update finds that 33,000 lives would be saved if all hospitals performed as safely as A hospitals. Compared to A hospitals, patients face a 9% higher risk of dying from a preventable harm in B hospitals, 35% higher in C hospitals and 50% higher in D and F hospitals. The report was produced for Leapfrog by Matt Austin, Ph.D., director of The Leapfrog Hospital Survey, assistant professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at John Hopkins University School of Medicine, and faculty member at the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality.

Michigan hospital highlights:

• Of the 80 Michigan hospitals issued a Hospital Safety Score, 26 earned an A; 13 earned a B; 37 earned a C; 3 earned a D; and one earned an F.
• Five hospitals have earned straight A’s since the inception of Hospital Safety Score in 2013. They are Allegiance Health in Jackson, Dickinson County Healthcare System in Iron Mountain, Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township, Mercy Health Saint Mary’s in Grand Rapids, and University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers in Ann Arbor.
• Hospitals can use the Hospital Safety Score as benchmark to improve upon and/or maintain excellent patient safety.
• When choosing a hospital, patients can use the Hospital Safety Score to reduce their risks of hospital acquired infections.
• Employers can save money by recommending employees use high-performing hospitals.

“There is a large cost difference between a C-F hospital and an A hospital. That cost is not only in dollars, but we now know the cost is also in lives,” said Bret Jackson, EAM President. “Excellent patient safety is what every hospital should strive for.”

“It is time for every hospital in America to put patient safety at the top of their priority list. Tens of thousands of lives are stake,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.

The Hospital Safety Score assigns A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. For more information about the Hospital Safety Score or to view the list of state rankings, please visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org. To learn how employers are footing the bill for hospital errors, visit Leapfrog’s Cost Calculator. Journalists interested in scheduling an interview with The Leapfrog Group should contact LeapfrogMediaGroup@sternstrategy.com. Michigan specific inquires contact The Economic Alliance for Michigan.