Photo by Piron Guillaume/UNSPLASH
The safety report cards are in for metro Richmond hospitals, and seven out of 11 have earned A’s.
The Fall 2018 ratings from the national nonprofit Leapfrog Group gave top marks to Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital, Bon Secours Regional Medical Center, the Chippenham and Johnston-Willis campuses of the CJW Medical Center, Henrico Doctors Hospital, Parham Doctors Hospital, and Retreat Doctors Hospital.
John Randolph Medical Center in Hopewell and Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center in Midlothian earned B’s.
VCU Health System and Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg received C’s.
The Leapfrog Group assesses health care facilities across the nation on patient safety, looking at factors including infections, surgical problems such as items left inside a patient or complications such as breathing problems, rates of bed sores and falls, error prevention, and communications. Grades are assessed on 27 measures, and facilities are assigned a grade of A to F.
Across Virginia, 66 hospitals were surveyed, with 34 earning A’s, 19 receiving B’s, 12 with C’s and 1 scored with a D. There were 2,500 facilities rated nationally. Virginia ranks third nationally in the Leapfrog rankings, with 51.52 percent of hospitals earning an A. Washington, D.C., and two states, Delaware and North Dakota, anchored the bottom of the rankings, with no facilities earning A’s.
John McCurley, chief medical officer for Bon Secours Virginia Health System, says that the nonprofit’s ratings match up well with Bon Secours' priorities to focus on performance and keep patients safe from preventable harm.
“We consider the Leapfrog grades important,” he says. “It fully aligns with our focus as a health system and the expectations [we have] of ourselves.”
Ann Latstetter, the vice president for quality for HCA Capital Division, says in a release that the rankings reflect HCA's commitment to patient safety.
VCU noted in an email statement that its medical center has earned a top ranking for 2018 in metro Richmond by U.S. News & World Report, and earned a Quest for Quality Prize from the American Hospital Association-McKesson. "We have an unwavering commitment to patient safety and quality, and encourage patients to consult with multiple sources when making a decision about a hospital or any health care provider," according to the statement.
They note that they use hundreds of metrics regarding safety and quality care, and cite an initiative that led to improvements in hospital-acquired conditions. VCU also contends that some unverified data was used in the Leapfrog rating, and that the assessment did not fully take into consideration that the medical center cares for "some of the sickest patients with the most complicated health issues, and we are among a select group of health care systems able to do so."
McCurley says the Leapfrog letter grades are a good starting point for consumers in looking at hospitals, but that they should also look at the details on each as well. He advises to take a look, but do some digging, because the letter grade may be misleading.
CAPSULES
The week's health and medicine news in brief
- The number of deaths attributed to opioid overdoses in Virginia continued to trend downward for the second quarter of 2019. The Fatal Drug Overdose Quarterly Report from the State Medical Examiner’s Officer was updated in October and projects 94 fewer drug overdose deaths through the end of the year. If the trend holds, it would mark the first decline in overdose deaths in the commonwealth since 2012. There were 1,538 overdose deaths reported in 2017 in Virginia, and 1,444 are projected through year’s end 2018.
- The Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU has been recertified as a Level 1 pediatric trauma center by the Virginia Department of Health.
- Handle that Thanksgiving bird with care: The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that salmonella linked to raw turkey has sickened 164 people across the United States since last year, including eight in Virginia. Sixty-three have been hospitalized and one has died, in California. No single source or common supplier has been identified, and the salmonella strain has been found in live birds, raw turkey products and raw turkey pet food. Forbes has more information online, including some great tips on how to head off illness with your bird preparations.
