Virginia Mason earns straight A's in new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade program

The Leapfrog Group, a leading national nonprofit watchdog on hospital quality and safety, recently announced that Virginia Mason has once again received an "A" for patient safety in the new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades.

Virginia Mason has earned straight A's since the inception of the Safety Grade program in 2012. It is one of only 63 hospitals nationwide – and the only one in Seattle – to achieve this.

"The latest recognition by the Leapfrog Group again affirms that our teams are focused on the right work and making a difference in the lives of our patients," said Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD.

Patients and their families regularly participate alongside Virginia Mason team members in the organization's continuous-improvement workshops that focus on further improving quality, safety and the patient experience.

"We view patients and their families as our partners as we design health care processes based on their feedback and needs," Dr. Kaplan said. "It's exciting to imagine where this important work will take us in the years ahead."

"Straight 'A' hospitals are a rare breed. Not only do they achieve the highest national standards for safety, but they consistently maintain that level of excellence," said Leah Binder, president and CEO, The Leapfrog Group. "That means that they put the well-being of their patients first, every hour of every day, year after year. We are proud to recognize that tireless commitment."

Developed with 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. Hospitals do not pay to be evaluated by Leapfrog nor can they opt out of the process.