Chambersburg Hospital maintains 'A' grade for patient safety
Chambersburg Hospital has once again obtained an "A" score for hospital safety.
This is the third consecutive period the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Guide has awarded its top score to the hospital.
Leapfrog is a national hospital grading program aimed at protecting patients and providing safer health care.
According to Pat O’Donnell, president and CEO of WellSpan Summit Health, this designation is a representation of the hospital staff’s commitment to preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in the surrounding counties.
“We’re consistently looking for better ways to deliver the best care possible to our patients. Now, as a part of a larger organization, we are thrilled for the opportunity to share those practices with the other hospitals within the WellSpan system,” O’Donnell said in a news release. “We take care of people when they are at their most vulnerable and through continuous improvement and a culture of safety, we’re able to give our patients the quality care they deserve close to home. It is an honor to have that be recognized on a national scale.”
Leapfrog awards scores every spring and fall. All of Chambersburg Hospital's "A" scores have come since it joined WellSpan Health in June 2018 as a result of the former Summit Health's merger with the larger regional health care system. The hospital obtained "B" scores back to fall of 2016 and a "C" that spring, according to the Leapfrog website.
Hospitals are scored in five categories: prevalence of infections, problems with surgery, practices to prevent errors, safety problems and quality of doctors, nurses and hospital staff. Each category has several sub-sections in which a facility is evaluated.
Chambersburg was rated "above average" in most sub-sections of each category, with all sub-sections in the safety problems category getting the highest rating.
More:WellSpan Health Center brings comprehensive medical care to Greencastle area
More:Summit Health and Wellspan Health sign affiliation agreement
More:Franklin County got its health report card - and it's not good
The hospital received its worst ratings in the infections category. It was rated "below average" for prevalence of MRSA infections and infections in the blood, and "average" for C.diff. However, it was rated "above average" for infections of the urinary tract and surgical site infections after colon surgery.
It was also rated "below average" for accidental cuts and tears (problems with surgery) and for the system it uses so doctors can order medications (practices to prevent errors).
Across WellSpan Health, WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital and WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital also achieved ‘A’ safety grades. WellSpan Waynesboro Hospital’s scores were consistent with an ‘A’ grade, but the size of the hospital prevents it from qualifying for the award.
“‘A’ hospitals show us their leadership is protecting patients from preventable medical harm and error,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “It takes genuine commitment at every level – from clinicians to administrators to the board of directors – and we congratulate the teams who have worked so hard to earn this A.”
Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.
To see WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital’s full grade and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.