Community Hospital Monterey Peninsula given ‘A’ grade for safety

Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula has been honored for the second time this year with an ‘A’ grade in the Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries, and infections.

The top grade was compiled under the guidance of experts on patient safety and is administered by the Leapfrog Group, an independent industry watchdog.

This is the only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the score is designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.

“This rating reflects our focus on patient safety, which is always our first priority,” says Dr. Steven Packer, President/CEO, Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.

The score uses 28 measures of hospital safety data to produce a single letter grade — “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” — representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. Measures considered include infection rates, protocols to prevent medication errors, and nurse staffing and education. More than 2,500 hospitals in the U.S. were assigned scores in fall 2014, with about 31 percent receiving an “A” grade.

Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group, praised the hospitals that received an “A” grade, “They help raise the standards of healthcare nationwide, and demonstrating that they’ve made the well-being of patients a top priority.”

To see how Community Hospital’s score compares locally and nationally, and to access safety tips for patients and their loved ones, visit the Hospital Safety Score web site at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.