Hospitals in South Carolina have been reacting to the latest safety report released by the Leapfrog Group, a hospital watchdog organization that grades hospitals on various safety measures. The report evaluates hospitals on criteria such as pediatric care, healthcare-associated infections, errors, accidents, and injuries.
Prisma Health, one of the leading healthcare systems in the state, saw improvements in several of its area hospitals. The Richland location, in particular, received a higher grade of “B” in the latest report, up from a “C” in the previous one. Michael Bundy, CEO of Prisma Health Midlands Market, highlighted the achievement, noting that only seven hospitals in South Carolina received the prestigious Leapfrog top hospital award, with five of them belonging to Prisma Health.
On the other hand, MUSC and Lexington Medical Center experienced a decline in their grades. MUSC’s Northeast and Downtown locations both received a “C” grade, with the Leapfrog Group citing difficulties in calculating standards for healthcare-associated infections among other measures.
In response to the report, Lexington Medical Center issued a statement emphasizing the varying rates of complications between hospitals and the focus of Leapfrog on hospital complications.
The Leapfrog Group emphasizes the importance of hospitals providing enough safety data for experts to issue a letter grade. Hospitals that do not meet certain criteria, such as missing process measures or outcome measures, are not graded by the organization.
Overall, the safety report serves as a valuable tool for patients and healthcare providers to assess and improve the quality of care provided in hospitals across the country.
