The Leapfrog Group, a non-profit representing hundreds of the nation’s most influential employers and purchasers of healthcare, recently announced the fall 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades.
This is the first Hospital Safety Grades release since the KHC joined the Leapfrog Regional Leader program this summer. Regional Leaders are Leapfrog’s voice in driving change in their communities, engaging employers and purchasers using Leapfrog as a tool to advance quality, safety, and efficiency in healthcare.
As a Regional Leader, the KHC is Leapfrog’s “boots on the ground” in Kentucky and Southern Indiana, and Leapfrog in turn supports our efforts with purchasers and others in the community to improve the value of healthcare in the area. The KHC asks hospitals to report to the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, recognizes hospitals for excellence and improvement, and receives use of Leapfrog data for public reporting.
The independent grading system assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on more than 30 national measures of preventable errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public. The fall 2021 Hospital Safety Grade represents the largest set of hospitals ever graded in their 20-year history of collecting data, with grades assigned to 2,901 facilities across the country.
Critical changes in the 2021 Surveys include new questions assessing whether hospitals have ethical billing practices in place and are focusing on health equity – identifying and addressing possible disparities in care.
Thank you to our Kentuckiana hospitals that participated in the Hospital Safety Grades survey. As a Leapfrog Regional Leader, the KHC encourages all our Kentucky and southern Indiana hospitals to participate in the Leapfrog surveys. Fifteen facilities in Kentucky and Southern Indiana earned an “A” in the latest grades. Look for more on The Leapfrog Group from the KHC in the future, as we ramp up participation in the Regional Leader program, including more information about the latest grades and recognizing those facilities that earned high grades.
To complement our partnership with Leapfrog, the 2022 KHC Annual Conference in April will feature Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder, who will keynote the morning of the event. “The Quest for Value and Equity” will feature national leaders, innovators, and disrupters as they map out the future of healthcare to achieve high quality, affordable, and equitable healthcare.
