10 Straight Years of ‘A’ Safety Grades for St. Clair Health
Only Hospital in Pennsylvania and One of Only 33 Hospitals Nationwide to Earn 20 Consecutive Top Marks from The Leapfrog Group
PITTSBURGH, PA (May 10, 2022) – The Leapfrog Group today announced Hospital Safety Grades for Spring 2022, with St. Clair Health once again being recognized as a leader in patient safety with an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade. Grades are updated twice annually, and this latest rating marks the 20th consecutive period—or 10 full years—in which St. Clair has received the highest grade for patient safety.
St. Clair is the only hospital in Pennsylvania and one of only 33 hospitals nationwide to have earned 20 straight ‘A’ ratings since the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade program was introduced. This places St. Clair among the top 1.1 percent of hospitals in America.
“This extraordinary accomplishment belongs to every one of our St. Clair team members, who work every day to protect patients from harm,” said Todd Pollock, Executive Director of Quality and Care Management at St. Clair Health. “It’s a reflection of their relentless commitment to a patient-first experience and testament to our culture that fosters superior patient care.”
The Leapfrog Group assigns an A, B, C, D, or F grade to every general acute-care hospital across the nation based on their performance in over thirty performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as the processes hospitals have in place to prevent harm. The semi-annual grades are peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.
For over 20 years, The Leapfrog Group has served as America’s voice for patient safety and quality to push the health care industry forward. The national nonprofit’s bold transparency has promoted high-value care; informed health care decisions; and helped trigger significant leaps forward in the safety, quality, and affordability of U.S. health care.
“As our healthcare system continues to feel the strain of the pandemic, I thank the workforce and leadership of St. Clair for sustained commitment to patient safety, day in and day out,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Earning 20 straight ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grades is an outstanding achievement, and one that is not possible without a 24/7 effort by the entire healthcare workforce to protect patients from harm. This community should be proud.”
This prestigious honor adds to St. Clair’s growing list of accolades in recent years, including:
- Being named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals by IBM Watson Health for the fourth consecutive year and seventh year overall in 2021
- Being one of only two hospitals in the region to receive a 5-star quality rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2021—the highest rating available
- Being ranked among the best hospitals in Pennsylvania by multiple evaluators, including U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek
- Receiving the 2021 Guardian of Excellence Award® from Press Ganey for patient satisfaction ratings among the top 5 percent in the nation
Altogether, these achievements continue a tradition of excellence that is unsurpassed in western Pennsylvania. According to Pollock, “Earning some of the most significant awards the healthcare industry bestows has real meaning for all of us. Still, what has the greatest meaning for St. Clair is the difference we make in the lives of our patients and the neighborhoods we serve.”
About St. Clair Health
St. Clair Health is a nationally recognized, integrated health system with more than 2,500 employees and 600 physicians serving 500,000 residents of the region. It encompasses St. Clair Hospital; St. Clair Medical Group—a 135-physician multispecialty group; St. Clair Health Foundation; and other related entities. In 2016, St. Clair Health became a member of Mayo Clinic Care Network. As a leader in high value healthcare, it participates with all major insurers. For more information, visit: www.stclair.org.
# # #