Houston Fall 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Patient Safety Grades Announced

HOUSTON – November 10, 2021 – The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit representing hundreds of the nation’s most influential employers and purchasers of health care, and driven in the Houston metro area by the Houston Business Coalition on Health (HBCH), announced today fall 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades.

The independent grading system assigns letter grades to general hospitals across the US based on over 30 national measures of preventable errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. The fall 2021 grades represent the largest set of hospitals ever graded with 2,901 facilities across the country.

Statewide, 225 hospitals were graded, with 41 graded in the Houston metroplex. Fifteen hospitals earned As, 15 Bs, 10 Cs, and one D. The following hospitals earned an A:

• HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe

• HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast

• HCA Houston Healthcare West

• Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital

• Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital

• Houston Methodist Hospital

• Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital

• Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital

• Houston Methodist West Hospital

• Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital

• Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital

• Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center

• Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital

• Oakbend Medical Center - Williams Way Campus

• St. Luke's Health -- The Woodlands Hospital

“The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade supports patients and their families in Houston when they need hospital care and the commitment of hospitals to fundamental safety practices can save lives,” said Chris Skisak, HBCH executive director. “Our employer members watch the twice-yearly grades closely to guide their employees and their families to the safest hospitals.”

HBCH, a non-profit organization representing employer purchasers of health care, and a Leapfrog Group Regional Leader, annually encourages Houston area hospitals to participate in Leapfrog’s online patient safety survey. The safety grades and surveys are used as tools by HBCH to navigate employees and their dependents to the highest quality hospitals.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.

“The Leapfrog Group thanks the health care workers in north Texas and nationwide who work so hard for their communities,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “It’s important we recognize excellence, especially in times like these. But it’s also essential to know when hospitals fall short because lives are at stake. We see every day how hospitals can and will improve their safety when patients make clear it matters to them.”

For more information about the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, as well as individual grades and state rankings, please visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Facebook and Twitter.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The organization’s other main initiative, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

About Houston Business Coalition on Health

The non-profit Houston Business Coalition on Health is the leading resource for Houston employers and their health services providers dedicated to providing health benefits at a sustainable cost while improving the quality and employee experience of their delivery through effective benefits design. With 60 members, HBCH represents approximately 500,000 local and more than 1 million national employer-sponsored lives. HBCH a member of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. For additional information visit our website houstonbch.org and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. houstonbch.org

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