Leapfrog Group Gives Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek an "A" for Safety

Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center earned a top score of “A” for keeping patients safe in The Leapfrog Group’s biannual Hospital Safety Grades report.

After reviewing hospital clinical performance, Leapfrog assigns hospitals grades based on approximately two dozen measures that analyze patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections.

“Patient safety is our top priority at the Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center,” said Kaiser Permanente Diablo Service Area Senior Vice President and Area Manager Pam Galley. “We are honored to be recognized as a leader in patient safety, which is a testament to the unwavering commitment of our physicians, nurses and staff.”

This fall, 13 Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California received “A” scores from Leapfrog including: Antioch, Modesto, Oakland, Richmond, Roseville, San Francisco, San Leandro, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, South San Francisco, Vallejo, and Walnut Creek.

“We provide exceptional, patient-centered care,” said Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center Physician in Chief Ken Grullon, MD. “Our clinical teams continue to focus on providing our patients with the care they need to lead healthy lives and improve their overall well-being.”

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 the 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 more than 12.7 million members. Nationally, 26 of 39 Kaiser Permanente hospitals, nearly 67% 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 12.6 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