Saint Barnabas Medical Center Awarded an “A” for Patient Safety by Hospital Safety Score

Nov. 28, 2012 - PRLog -- Saint Barnabas Medical Center was honored with an “A” Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits.  The A score was awarded in the latest update to the Hospital Safety Score (http://www.hospitalsafetyscore.org/)SM, the A, B, C, D or F scores assigned to U.S. hospitals based on preventable medical errors, injuries accidents, and infections. The Hospital Safety Score was compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety and is designed to give the public information they can use to protect themselves and their families.

“Saint Barnabas Medical Center is proud of this recognition. The Leapfrog Group score is representative of our organizational commitment to patient safety. This recognition is important to our goal of maintaining excellence and continually improving the care we provide to our community,” states John F. Bonamo, MD, MS, President and Chief Executive Officer, Saint Barnabas Medical Center.  

“Hospitals like this that earn an A have demonstrated their commitment to their patients and their community,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “I congratulate Saint Barnabas Medical Center for its safety excellence, and look forward to the day when all hospitals will match this standard.”

To see Saint Barnabas Medical Center’s scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit the Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay. People can also check their local hospital’s score on the free mobile app, available at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group’s nine-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The panel includes: John Birkmeyer (University of Michigan), Ashish Jha (Harvard University), Lucian Leape (Harvard University), Arnold Millstein (Stanford University), Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins University), Patrick Romano (University of California, Davis), Sara Singer (Harvard University), Tim Vogus (Vanderbilt University), and Robert Wachter (University of California, San Francisco).  

Saint Barnabas Medical Center

Since 1865, Saint Barnabas Medical Center (SBMC), New Jersey’s oldest nonsectarian hospital, has worked to exceed our community’s highest expectations for compassionate, comprehensive health care.  The 597-bed institution is one of the largest heath care providers in the state, treating more than 33,000 inpatients and over 87,000 Emergency Department patients each year. The Medical Center and the Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center provide treatment and services for more than 300,000 outpatient visits annually.

Saint Barnabas Medical Center has long been recognized as a leader in providing the highest level of patient care—delivering nearly 6,000 babies annually which is one of the largest programs in the state, caring for more newly diagnosed cancer patients, creating breakthroughs in the field of infertility, and providing more than 100 medical and surgical specialty and subspecialty services. For more information, call 973-322-5000 or visit www.barnabashealth.org/sbmc  Saint Barnabas Medical Center is located 94 Old Short Hills Road, Livingston, NJ 07039.