Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital received high marks in health safety and quality from a national nonprofit health care organization that examines hospital quality and safety.

The hospital was among 750 health facilities across the nation to be awarded an ‘;A’ safety grade from the Leapfrog Group for spring 2018. The organization released grades for about 2,500 hospitals across the country.

Munson Healthcare Vice President of Quality and Safety Dr. Tom Peterson, M.D., said the grades for the health care system’s hospitals reflect a continual focus on patient safety and quality care.
“We are pleased to see the high-quality care reflected in Leapfrog grades in this survey,‘ Peterson said. “Every day across the system, our teams are working hard to provide the best care for our patients, to ensure we have the right processes and procedures in place for patient safety, and to promote a quality outcome.‘

Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital joined Munson Healthcare Grayling Hospital, Munson Medical Center and Otsego Memorial Hospital, which also received an “A‘ grade from the organization.

Tonya Smith, president of Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital, appreciated having the efforts of the hospital recognized by the agency.

“Our staff and providers are committed to keeping our patients at the center of all that we do and providing high-quality care to our community every day,‘ Smith said.

Leapfrog officials use 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D, and F grades to hospitals across the nation twice each year. The organization said that each grade is the result of data review by patient safety experts, and conclusions are peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.
“This is the only national rating of how well hospitals protect patients from preventable harm and death, such as medical errors, infections, and injuries,‘ Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group said.

Receiving an ‘A’ Safety Grade means a hospital is among the best in the country for preventing these terrible problems and putting their patients first, 24 hours a day.

When making health care decisions, Peterson encourages patients to use all available tools at their disposal, such as talking with friends and family and consulting with doctors, nurses and other health care providers. The latest Leapfrog rating system is just one tool among many that patients can use when making health care decisions, such as choosing a hospital.

According to the LeapFrog analysis, Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital scored above average in most areas, only scoring below average in communication about medication (scoring 77 out of 87 points), tracking and reducing risks to patients (91.67 out of 100 points), having enough qualified nurses (88.24 out of 100 points) and the number of specially trained doctors to care for ICU patients (5 out of 100 points).

More information on Leapfrog safety grades can be found at hospitalsafetygrade.org.