Five University Hospitals Medical Centers Earn National Recognition with a Top Hospital Safety Grade by The Leapfrog Group

CLEVELAND - Several University Hospitals medical center locations earned an "A" Hospital Safety Grade by The Leapfrog Group, a prestigious national honor recognizing hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers that demonstrate the highest standards in patient safety and quality care.

UH locations awarded include:

• University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center
• University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center
• University Hospitals Parma Medical Center
• University Hospitals Samaritan Medical Center
• University Hospitals St. John Medical Center

This distinction highlights the relentless focus on Zero Harm initiatives championed by University Hospitals to protect patients and deliver high-quality care.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade stands as the only hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries that can lead to poor outcomes for patients.

"At University Hospitals we are on a mission to Zero Harm, a journey built on our commitment to quality, safety, and shared accountability," said Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, FCCM, Chief Quality & Clinical Transformation Officer and Veale Distinguished Chair in Leadership and Clinical Transformation. "I'm really proud of how our caregivers rallied to decrease infections and make care safer for every patient who trusts UH with their wellbeing."

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns a letter grade to general hospitals across the country based on more than 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries, and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

"We standardize our quality management and accountability systems across all hospital locations," said Pronovost. "University Hospitals is the first U.S. health system certified at the system level in ISO 9001, the global gold standard for a quality management system in over 160 industries. We are confident our hospitals will continue to achieve top performance in the future."

Leapfrog's publicly available hospital grades are intended as a tool to empower patients. University Hospitals closely monitors quality measures like hospital-acquired infections and readmission rates. All caregivers, including nurses and physicians, are encouraged to actively advocate for their patients, which leads to a culture of shared responsibility and accountability.

The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring. To see full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.