Kaweah Delta Earns Fourth Consecutive "A" In Hospital Safety

VISALIA – Kaweah Delta Medical Center has earned its fourth consecutive “A,” the top grade for patient safety in the latest Hospital Safety Score. The score provides a complete picture of how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections.

“This ‘A’ recognizes the dramatic improvements we’ve made in quality of care and patient safety. We’re proud of this honor, but our goal will always be to improve our performance in the future for our patients,” said Lindsay Mann, Chief Executive Officer of Kaweah Delta Health Care District.

Kaweah Delta is one of 844 hospitals out of more than 2,600 hospitals across the country that received A ratings in Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Score. The Visalia-based hospital raised its safety score from 2015 by implementing a variety of initiatives that educated staff about best practices for patient safety. Clinical leadership and frontline staff implemented best practices to reduce surgical complications. Additionally, staff members have continued safe practices such as work to prevent hospital acquired infections, pressure ulcers, falls and more, said Sandra Volchko, Director of Performance Improvement and Patient Safety at Kaweah Delta.

“It’s up to us to have processes in place, and we do, to make sure that when patients come into the hospital they don’t leave with something such as an infection or injury. We wouldn’t be an ‘A’ without those,” Volchko said.

The Hospital Safety Score is the gold standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog. The only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.

Developed under the guidance of an expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

The Hospital Safety Score is fully transparent, offering a full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades on the website. To see Kaweah Delta’s score, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

Kaweah Delta’s A grade validates its achievement in preventing harm within the hospital, said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, which administers the Hospital Safety Score. “Protecting patients from harm is the most important charge for any hospital,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We recognize and appreciate ‘A’ hospitals’ vigilance and continued dedication to keeping their patients safe.”