Saint Clare's receives an A for safety

DENVILLE — Saint Clare’s Hospitals in Denville and Dover have been recognized for their dedication to patient safety by being awarded an A grade in the Spring 2015 Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from preventable medical errors, injuries and infections within the hospital.

The hospitals also are being recognized as a “Straight A’s” hospital, as it has never received a grade lower than an A from the Hospital Safety Score since the Score first launched in June 2012.

An A grade is one of the most meaningful honors a hospital can achieve, and one of the most valuable indicators for patients looking for a safe place to receive care. The Hospital Safety Score is the gold standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, nonprofit hospital safety watchdog. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.

“We are very proud to share that for the seventh consecutive time, Saint Clare’s Hospitals in Denville and Dover have been recognized with an A grade by The Leapfrog Group,” said Leslie D. Hirsch, president and chief executive officer at Saint Clare’s Health System. “Saint Clare’s hospitals in Denville and Dover are the only hospitals in Morris County, and among only 182 hospitals nationwide, to receive straight A grades. Patient safety is always our top priority, and it is gratifying when the hard work and efforts of all our staff are recognized at a national level.”

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 single A, B, C, D, or F score, representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores in April 2015, with about 31 percent receiving an A grade.

To see Saint Clare’s full score, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org or follow The Hospital Safety Score on Twitter or Facebook. Consumers can also download the free Hospital Safety Score mobile app for Apple and Android devices.