‘Expert care from people who care’ positions St. Clair as a national leader in patient safety—and the only one in PA to benchmark sustained level of excellence

St. Clair Health has earned 2021 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired recognition as a certified Level 9.

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Digital Health Most Wired program conducts the annual survey to assess how effectively healthcare organizations apply core and advanced technologies into their clinical and business programs to improve health and care in their communities.

Compassion, Dedication and Expertise Form The Cornerstone

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded St. Clair Health a 5-star quality rating, the highest rating available, as part of CMS’ update of its Care Compare website. It is one of only two 5-star ratings awarded in western Pennsylvania. According to CMS, less than 14 percent of hospitals in the nation received a 5-star rating in the most recent update.

CMS uses a 1 to 5 star rating scale. The scores are based on hospital performance in mortality, readmission, safety of care, patient experience, and timely and effective care.

“Earning CMS’ 5-star rating is validation of the exceptional care provided at St. Clair Health,” said Todd Pollock, M.S., Executive Director, Quality & Care Management, St. Clair Health. “Our commitment to provide expert care from people who care is borne out by these excellent results and is another example of how St. Clair Health is creating a healthier region. St. Clair’s unwavering goal is to put every patient first, every single time.”

CMS said the Care Compare website and Stars Rating System are valuable consumer tools that provide helpful and important information on the safety and quality of the nation’s hospitals. These decision-making tools offer great transparency on hospital performance for a wide variety of users – patients, caregivers, families, and the broader health care industry.

Today’s announcement continues a tradition of excellence that is unsurpassed in western Pennsylvania. In addition to CMS, St. Clair this week also received national recognition from 100 Top Hospitals and The Leapfrog Group.

In recent years, St. Clair has received numerous accolades from not only CMS, but also from 100 Top Hospitals, The Leapfrog Group, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, CareChex, Healthgrades, and others. St. Clair remains western Pennsylvania’s exclusive member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network.

‘Expert Care From People Who Care’ Is Foundation of Rating

The Leapfrog Group, the nation’s leading patient safety watchdog, has released its new Hospital Safety Grades for Spring 2021, awarding St. Clair Health an “A” for its demonstrated record of preventing patient harm.

St. Clair is one of only 39 hospitals across the country to have earned 18 “As” in a row and the only hospital in Pennsylvania to have done so, placing St. Clair amongst the top 1.5 percent of hospitals in the country and the leader in the region for patient safety.

Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,700 acute care hospitals twice a year. The Safety Grade assigns letter grades of A, B, C, D and F to hospitals nationwide based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms.

“An ‘A’ safety grade is an elite designation that your community should be proud of,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The past year has been extraordinarily difficult for hospitals, but St. Clair Health shows us it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.”

Diane L. Puccetti, R.N., BSN, MS, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at St. Clair, said,  “Our mission to put patients first is built into the culture at St. Clair and prioritizes patient safety by providing an environment of care that protects patients from harm.”

Today’s announcement continues a tradition of excellence that is unsurpassed in western Pennsylvania. In addition to The Leapfrog Group, St. Clair this week also was named among the 100 Top Hospitals for the fourth consecutive year. It is the sixth time since 2012 that St. Clair has received this honor, and the seventh overall, the most in western Pennsylvania.

In recent years, St. Clair has received numerous accolades from not only The Leapfrog Group, 100 Top Hospitals, but also from The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, CareChex, Healthgrades, and others. St. Clair remains western Pennsylvania’s exclusive member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network.

100 Top Hospital Award Bestowed

Fortune/IBM Watson Health today named St. Clair Health one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® for 2021. This marks the fourth consecutive year and seventh overall that St. Clair has won this prestigious honor, the most in western Pennsylvania.

The 100 Top Hospitals are selected annually based solely on an objective analysis of multiple measures of patient safety, quality, patient satisfaction, operational efficiency, and community engagement. All acute care hospitals in the United States are evaluated for potential inclusion on the list.

Joining St. Clair are such respected institutions as Baylor University Medical Center, the University of Utah, University (of Wisconsin) Hospital (Madison WI), and North Shore University Health System (Evanston IL). Notably, only 16 hospitals nationwide have made the list four years running, and St. Clair is the only Pittsburgh area hospital to ever receive the honor in four straight years.

“We are proud of all of the hospitals, health systems and their dedicated clinicians and staff included among the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals,” said Irene Dankwa-Mullan, M.D., MPH, Chief Health Equity Officer and Deputy Chief Health Officer at IBM Watson Health. Organizations on this list demonstrate a relentless commitment to high value, patient-centered care and innovation. They also recognize the importance of contributing to the health of their communities.”

John T. Sullivan, M.D., MBA, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at St. Clair, said, “This prestigious honor is perfectly aligned with St. Clair’s rebranding to St. Clair Health, a reflection of who we are as an organization: A quality leader who offers advanced care close to home, treats every patient, partner and person with compassion and respective at every step, and is helping create a healthier region by providing excellent care and being a good neighbor.”

In an accompanying study, IBM Watson Health notes that, if all hospitals in the nation performed at the level of the 100 Top Hospitals, more than 79,000 lives could be saved, 44,000 patients could be complication-free, and the cost of healthcare could be reduced by $10.1 billion.

Today’s announcement continues a tradition of excellence that is unsurpassed in western Pennsylvania.  In recent years, St. Clair has received numerous accolades from 100 Top Hospitals, the Leapfrog Group, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, CareChex, Healthgrades, and others. St. Clair remains western Pennsylvania’s exclusive member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network.