May 26, 2015

Harrington Joins Elite List to Score Seven Consecutive “A” Grades for Patient Safety

SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. – May 26, 2015 – Harrington HealthCare System recently joined an elite list of hospitals across the nation to earn seven consecutive “A” grades–the highest letter grade available–from healthcare rating organization The Leapfrog Group.

Read more about our recent awards and recognition for patient satisfaction, quality, and safety.

The score reflects a wide scope of safety measures, including how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries, and infections.

Harrington is one of only 182 hospitals nationwide to achieve seven consecutive A’s. More than 2,500 hospitals are graded twice annually.

According to a recent study in The Journal of Patient Safety, research indicates consumers will choose safer hospitals 97 percent of the time.

“Patient safety is of paramount importance to us at Harrington HealthCare System,” said Ed Moore, President and CEO. “This is a remarkable honor and speaks to the dedicated work of each member of our medical team.”

Twenty-eight measures of publicly available data are weighted and then combined to produce a single letter-grade score.

The Leapfrog Group was established in 2000 in large part to help reduce preventable medical mistakes. The Hospital Safety Score provides data and research to help make informed decisions. According to Leapfrog, a hospital may have the best surgeons and greatest technology in the world, but unless it is preventing infections and eliminating errors, it is not ensuring the safety of patients and loved ones.

The latest Leapfrog rating is one of a number of quality and patient safety achievements at Harrington HealthCare System recently. Among Harrington’s achievements are:

• 2013 and 2014 Top Hospital Recipient by The Leapfrog Group

• One of only four hospitals in Massachusetts to rank as a top performer in Patient Experience and Patient Safety Excellence in April 2015 by Healthgrades – a Denver-based healthcare rating organization

• A four-star ranking in April 2015 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid based on data from the 11 publicly reported HCAHPS measures
• Ranking among the top 2 percent of all hospitals in the country for short wait times, according to statistics compiled by a healthcare publication Beckers Hospital Review.

• Mass. Department of Public Health SCORE (Stroke Collaborative Reaching for Excellence) Award for defect-free care
• A statewide award by an advisory panel to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) for the exemplary work of its TB Clinic.
• Joint Commission Top Improver for CORE Measures

Leapfrog safety scores are public information and can be found by visiting http://www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.