Larkin Community Hospital achieves 'A' for patient safety

Larkin Community Hospital (LCH), one of Florida's twelve statutory teaching hospitals and the largest osteopathic teaching hospital in the nation, was named one of the safest hospitals for patients by The Leapfrog Group. The South Miami healthcare provider achieved an A in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which is the gold standard for comparing the performance of hospitals' nationwide based on national standards of safety, quality, and efficiency that are most important to consumers and employers who purchase care.  Leapfrog Group was founded by employer organizations and is supported by the Business Roundtable, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and organizations around the country focused on initiating improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of healthcare for Americans.

Larkin Community Hospital's achievement stood out in the national assessment as Leapfrog reported that nearly three quarters of the 2,514 participating hospitals' status did not change from the last report in 2012. Hospitals' are graded against a 26-point quality measurement scale, and then filtered against the performances of a rigorous 15-point process and structure examining key indicators including hospital outcome measures. Information for the study was drawn from hospital survey participants and publicly available data from reputable sources. 

Dr. Jack J. Michel, Chairman of Larkin Community Hospital, believes that anyone seeking healthcare must be an informed consumer. "Choosing a doctor and a hospital for care should not be taken lightly. It means doing your research to make sure you are confident you are getting the highest quality of care for you and your loved ones. Surveys such as this one provide an unbiased, fact-based assessment on key health indicators that can help would-be patients make an informed decision." Dr. Michel says he tells patients there are a number of questions they should be asking.  "I look for a track record.  If I am looking at a surgeon, I want to make sure they have had a significant amount of surgeries and have seen a variety of cases. I want to know about their outcomes and how they treat their patients.  It's no different when you are deciding on a hospital. I look for a hospital that I feel confident I can literally trust with my life. People will spend months before purchasing a big-ticket item like a car. Health care decisions deserve the same serious consideration. "