Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Receives Top Patient Safety Rating

The Leapfrog Group recognized Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center with a top score of “A” in its biannual Hospital Safety Grades report. After reviewing hospital clinical performance, The Leapfrog Group assigned letter grades to nearly 3,000 hospitals throughout the United States.

Hospitals received grades based on approximately two dozen measures that analyze patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

This spring, 17 Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California received “A” scores including: Antioch, Fremont, Fresno, Manteca, Modesto, Oakland, Richmond, Roseville, San Francisco, San Leandro, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, South San Francisco, Vacaville, Vallejo, and Walnut Creek. Additionally, Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Redwood City, Sacramento, and San Jose received “B” scores.

More than 80% of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (17 of 21) hospitals received an “A” grade. In California overall, only 34% of the state’s hospitals earned the top grade.

“Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do,” said Chris Boyd, senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Service Area. “We are honored to be recognized as a leader in patient safety, and we are incredibly proud of our health care professionals who make a difference every day.”

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.

“Recognition like this from the Leapfrog Group speaks to our unwavering commitment to provide the best care to our members and the community,” said Ken Grullon, MD, physician in chief of the Walnut Creek Medical Center. “Our medical teams are comprised of caring and dedicated professionals who work diligently to keep our patients safe while providing outstanding care.”

Kaiser Permanente is one of America’s leading integrated health care providers and serves more than 12.6 million members. Nationally, 29 of 39 Kaiser Permanente hospitals, nearly 75% 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.