COVINGTON – For the 15th grading period in a row, St. Tammany Health System has received an “A” grade for patient safety for spring 2023 from the Leapfrog Group, an independent healthcare watchdog organization.
St. Tammany is the only Louisiana health system with 15 consecutive A’s. The next closest has 10.
“This award speaks directly to the Culture of Caring our team demonstrates daily,” St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman said. “This unprecedented streak did not happen by accident. Rather, it is the result of a concerted effort of our entire team to provide the best, most compassionate care possible. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to work with such dedicated professionals. They truly are a healthcare dream team.”
This latest recognition for STHS is particularly noteworthy, according to Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder, given that it is based on data from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This new update of Hospital Safety Grades shows that, at the national level, we saw deterioration in patient safety with the pandemic,” Binder said. “But this hospital received an ‘A’ despite those challenges. I congratulate all the leaders, staff, volunteers and clinicians who together made that possible.”
Introduced in 2012, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades assign letter grades of A, B, C, D and F twice a year to hospitals across the country. Those grades are based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms.
Developed under the guidance of a national panel of experts, the Leapfrog letter grade program uses up to 22 evidence-based measures of patient safety to assign grades to more than 3,000 U.S. acute-care hospitals.
The Leapfrog grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.
To see more details on St. Tammany Health System’s Leapfrog performance, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.
#####
About St. Tammany Health System
The heartbeat of its community, St. Tammany Health System cares for patients and families with excellence, compassion and teamwork. It is recognized for quality, safety and service excellence by CareChex, Leapfrog, Healthgrades, Hospital Compare, Women’s Choice and US News & World Report. St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 and Ochsner Health work together in partnership to improve the community’s health and quality of life. Together, west St. Tammany’s top two independent health leaders represent the most complete system of care, aligning behind the common goals of improving access, expanding specialty care and making care affordable. Under their agreement, each retains its autonomy; neither manages nor owns the other. Self-supporting, not-for-profit STHS is A+ rated by Fitch and receives no tax funding. More at StTammany.health
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 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog's other main initiative, 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.