Kaiser Permanente Modesto Medical Center receives top patient safety ranking from prestigious national group

Kaiser Permanente Modesto Medical Center today received the top “A” grade for patient safety from the Leapfrog Group’s fall 2017 Safety Grade.

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits, released its Hospital Safety Scores after examining publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors and infections at U.S. hospitals, which were then assigned letter grades for their safety records.

“Receiving the highest mark from the Leapfrog Group is a reaffirmation of Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to high-quality health care and patient safety,” said Corwin Harper, the senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente in the Central Valley Area. “Our physicians, nurses and staff are completely devoted to consistently preventing harm to our members and patients,” he added.

“Kaiser Permanente is well known as a leader in integrated health care whose physicians use advanced technology – with the highest safety standards – while delivering exceptional care with warmth and compassion,” said Sanjay Marwaha, physician-in-chief of Kaiser Permanente in the Central Valley Area. “Providing safe and high-quality care, as recognized by the Leapfrog Group, shows we are serious about being a world-class healthcare organization.”

Less than one-third of more than 2,600 hospitals surveyed in the U.S. received an “A” rating in the biannual report which began in 2012.

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage that strives for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability. It is an independent advocacy group working with a broad range of partners, including hospitals and insurers.

Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 30 national performance measures to produce a single letter grade representing a hospital’s overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade methodology has been peer reviewed and published in the Journal of Patient Safety.