STHS earns 14th consecutive A-grade for safety

COVINGTON – For the 14th grading period in a row, St. Tammany Health System has received an A for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, an independent healthcare watchdog organization.

St. Tammany is the only Louisiana health system with 14 consecutive As. The system with the next-closest streak has nine.

“I applaud the hospital leadership and workforce for their strong commitment to safety and transparency,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An ‘A’ Safety Grade is a sign that hospitals are continuously evaluating their performance so that they can best protect patients. Your hospital team should be extremely proud of their dedication and achievement.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades assign letter grades of A, B, C, D and F to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms. Developed under the guidance of a national panel of experts, it uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals.

The Leapfrog grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

To see more details on St. Tammany Health System’s Leapfrog performance, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.

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 atStTammany.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.