COVINGTON – For the 20th consecutive grading period, St. Tammany Health System’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital has earned an “A” grade for patient safety from the Leapfrog Group, an independent healthcare watchdog group.
This most recent biannual recognition extends the hospital’s straight-A streak to a full decade, the longest active streak in the state of Louisiana.
“At St. Tammany Health System, patient safety is not just a priority. It is the foundation of everything we do,” St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman said. “This milestone of 20 consecutive A grades is a testament to the skill, diligence and commitment of our entire workforce. Every member of our team plays a vital role in protecting our patients, and it is their daily efforts that make this sustained achievement possible.”
The health system’s current Leapfrog safety streak began in April 2016. It has received an “A” grade in every grading period since.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade was developed with guidance from a national panel of experts and uses up to 22 evidence-based measures to assign letter grades of A, B, C, D or F to more than 3,000 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice a year, in the spring and again in the fall.
Grades are based on a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms. The program is the only hospital ratings system focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries, which claim more than 500 lives each day in the United States. It is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and publicly available.
“Earning an ‘A’ Grade means St. Tammany Health System made a true commitment to put patient safety first,” Leapfrog Group President and CEO Leah Binder said. “We congratulate the leadership, Board, clinicians, staff and volunteers that all had a role to play in this achievement.”
To see more details on St. Tammany Health System’s Leapfrog performance, and for consumer-friendly patient safety tips, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.
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About St. Tammany Health System
The heartbeat of its community, St. Tammany Health System cares for patients and families with excellence, compassion and teamwork. It is recognized for quality, safety and service excellence by CareChex, Leapfrog, Healthgrades, Hospital Compare, Women’s Choice and US News & World Report. St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 and Ochsner Health work together in partnership to improve the community’s health and quality of life. Together, west St. Tammany’s top two independent health leaders represent the most complete system of care, aligning behind the common goals of improving access, expanding specialty care and making care affordable. Under their agreement, each retains its autonomy; neither manages nor owns the other. Self-supporting, not-for-profit STHS is A+ rated by Fitch and receives no tax funding. More at StTammany.health.
About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information, they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.