Freeman Receives Highest Possible Patient Safety Score

Friday, November 21, 2014 - Freeman Receives Highest Possible Patient Safety Score
Freeman Health System recently received recognition for its commitment to patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, an independent industry watchdog and leading healthcare performance measurement organization. Leapfrog awarded Freeman an “A” grade in the Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score, acknowledging Freeman’s success in protecting patients from errors, injuries and infections. Freeman is the only hospital in southwest Missouri to earn an “A” and one of 11 hospitals in the state to receive the top rating.

“This honor reflects Freeman’s dedication to providing patients with top quality, safe patient care,” said Freeman President and Chief Executive Officer Paula Baker. “It rewards our ongoing commitment to patients and affirms the emphasis we put on ensuring our community has access to the best healthcare possible. We encourage physicians, clinical staff and support staff to deliver safe, reliable care to every patient, every time.”

The Hospital Safety Score is the first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety. The score – available to the public free of charge – gives consumers information they can use to make the best decisions about where to obtain medical care when facing a hospital stay.

“Patient safety needs to be a 24/7 priority for hospitals because errors and infections are all too common and often deadly,” said Leapfrog President and Chief Executive Officer Leah Binder. “We commend Freeman Health System for helping us raise the standards of healthcare and demonstrating it makes the well-being of patients a top priority.”

Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a score that represents a hospital’s overall capability to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores, with about 31 percent receiving an “A” grade.

According to the Hospital Safety Score, available at hospitalsafetyscore.org, other hospitals in the region received the following scores:

• Mercy Hospital, Joplin, Mo. – C
• Mercy Hospital, Springfield, Mo. – A 
• Mercy Hospital, Fort Scott, Kan. – B
• Mercy Medical Center, Rogers, Ark. – C
• Cox Medical Center, Springfield, Mo. – C
• The University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kan. – C
• Integris Grove General Hospital, Grove, Okla. – C
• Integris Baptist Regional Health Center, Miami, Okla. – B
• Via Christi Hospital, Pittsburg, Kan. – C
• Labette Health, Parsons, Kan. – C 
• Northwest Medical Center, Bentonville, Ark. – B 

Also in 2014, Freeman earned awards in 90 separate categories from CareChex®, a quality rating system that helps consumers evaluate and make decisions about where to obtain the best medical care. In terms of patient safety, CareChex named Freeman among the Top 100 Hospitals in the Nation for Overall Medical Care. The CareChex quality rating system bases rankings on publicly-available clinical outcome, patient safety and patient satisfaction data.

About Freeman Health System
Locally owned, not-for-profit and nationally recognized, Freeman Health System includes Freeman Hospital West, Freeman Hospital East, Freeman Neosho Hospital and Ozark Center – the area’s largest provider of behavioral health services – as well as two urgent care clinics, dozens of physician clinics and a variety of specialty services. In 2014, Freeman earned 90 individual awards for medical excellence and safety from CareChex®, a quality rating system that helps consumers evaluate healthcare providers. U.S. News & World Report ranked Freeman #1 Hospital in Southwest Missouri in 2014-15, and The Leapfrog Group gave Freeman the highest grade possible in the Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score. With more than 300 physicians on staff representing more than 60 specialties, Freeman provides cancer care, heart and vascular care, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopaedics, children’s services and women’s services. Additionally, Freeman is the only Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in a 70-mile radius. For more information, visit freemanhealth.com or facebook.com/freemanhealthsystem or follow Freeman President and Chief Executive Officer Paula Baker at twitter.com/freemanceo. 

About The Leapfrog Group 
The Hospital Safety Score (hospitalsafetyscore.org) is an initiative of The Leapfrog Group (leapfroggroup.org), a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of healthcare to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of healthcare for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.