One of the nation's safest: Kaiser Permanente San Jose hospital

Kaiser Permanente San Jose hospital is being recognized as among the safest in the nation for patient care, according to The Leapfrog Group’s biannual Hospital Safety Grades report.

Leapfrog reviews hospital clinical data and assigns hospitals grades based on approximately two dozen safety measures that analyze patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections. Kaiser Permanente San Jose hospital is recognized with an “A” grade for patient safety.

“This top safety score demonstrates the hard work of our physicians, nurses, and staff to ensure our patients are being cared for safely and receiving world-class treatment at our hospital,” said Eric Henry, FACHE, Kaiser Permanente San Jose senior vice president and area manager.

This fall, 14 Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California received A grades from Leapfrog, including: Antioch, Fresno, Manteca, Modesto, Oakland, Roseville, San Francisco, San Jose, San Leandro, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, South Sacramento, and South San Francisco.

“This is an important recognition and a testament to the dedication of our care teams,” said Meena Pai, MD, Kaiser Permanente San Jose physician in chief. “Patient safety is our top priority, and our clinical teams and staff are focused on providing the safest care possible every day.”

The Leapfrog Group assigns letter grades to nearly 3,000 hospitals throughout the United States. The grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

More than 60% of Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals received an A grade. In California overall, only about 30% of the state’s hospitals earned this top grade.

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits, released its Hospital Safety Grades after examining publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections at U.S. hospitals. The report includes data collected by national health care organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Scores are calculated based on more than two dozen publicly available measures, and hospitals are then assigned A, B, C, D or F grades for their safety records. The grades are released as a free resource to help patients and their families make informed health care decisions.

Kaiser Permanente is one of America’s leading integrated health care providers and serves 12.5 million members. Nationally, 24 of the 39 Kaiser Permanente hospitals that were eligible for a grade, more than 60% percent, received a Leapfrog Safety A grade. In contrast, approximately 30% of the nation’s hospitals received an A rating.

For more information and a complete list of the hospital safety grades, visit Leapfrog.