Kaiser Permanente San Rafael receives top grade for patient safety

Reinforcing Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to health care quality excellence, Kaiser Permanente San Rafael hospital is recognized with an “A” grade for patient safety, 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 measures that analyze patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections.

“This ongoing recognition from The Leapfrog Group reflects our commitment to delivering exceptional care at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael,” said Tarek Salaway, senior vice president and area manager of the Kaiser Permanente Golden Gate Service area. “We are honored to earn, once again, this reflection of our leadership in patient safety on a national level.”

This spring, 13 Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California received A grades from Leapfrog including: Antioch, Fresno, Manteca, Modesto, Oakland, Roseville, San Francisco, San Jose, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, South Sacramento, and South San Francisco.

“It is a great honor to be recognized again as a leader in patient safety,” said Naveen Kumar, MD, physician in chief at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael. “The health and safety of our members, physicians, and staff is a top priority at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael. This ‘A’ grade further demonstrates the dedication of our exceptional physicians and staff.”

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, less than 30% of the nation’s hospitals received an A rating.

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

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About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.5 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health. For more information, go to about.kp.org