Brandon Hospital Gets Top Marks For Safety And As Employer Of Veterans

BRANDON, FL — HCA Florida Brandon Hospital has received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group. This national distinction celebrates Brandon Hospital’s achievements in protecting hospital patients from preventable harm and errors.

“This national recognition reflects Brandon Hospital’s commitment to providing safe, high-quality care to patients,” said Tripp Owings, chief executive officer at Brandon Hospital. “It is an honor to be recognized and I am incredibly proud of the team at Brandon Hospital for their dedication to patient safety.”

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization with a 10-year history of assigning letter grades to general hospitals throughout the United States, based on a hospital’s ability to prevent medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Hospital Safety Grade results are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring.

“I applaud the hospital leadership and workforce for their strong commitment to safety and transparency,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An ‘A’ Safety Grade is a sign that hospitals are continuously evaluating their performance, so that they can best protect patients. Your hospital team should be extremely proud of their dedication and achievement.”

The honor comes on the heels of HCA Florida Brandon Hospital being recognized by Military Times as one of the country’s best employers based on the company’s efforts to recruit, retain and support current and former service members, military spouses and military caregivers.

Since 2012, HCA Healthcare has hired more than 40,000 veterans, active-duty personnel and military spouses.

“HCA Florida Brandon Hospital is proud to support the men and women who serve in our nation’s military as well as their families and our military veterans,” said Owings. “For over 40 years, our hospital has helped meet the needs of many military families in our community by providing not only employment opportunities but also healthcare services such as emergency care, obstetrics and gynecology, neonatal intensive care, pediatrics and more.”

The Military Times' 2022 Best for Vets: Employers ranking is an editorially independent, highly respected analysis of the policies and practices that make companies an attractive place to work for both current employees and future job seekers within the military community.

Rankings are based on the results of a voluntary survey that seeks to capture the areas of greatest importance to transitioning service members, veterans and their families when choosing an employer. Recruitment and employment practices, as well as retention and support programs, are given the most weight in scoring.

The designation recognizes the work HCA Healthcare is doing to support and employ veterans, including:

• Launching an internal mentoring program for veterans and military spouses, which has been successful in helping recently transitioned veterans navigate the civilian workforce.
• Maintaining a Veteran Colleague Network, an employee-led, self-directed voluntary network facilitating connection, collaboration and celebration among colleagues.
• Offering military leave and supplemental pay to eligible colleagues, and supporting those who want to continue to serve as active duty military while working at HCA Healthcare.
• Partnering with the U.S. Army Medical Recruiting Brigade to create the Patriot Partnership Program, allowing the Army to provide specialized training for residency and fellowship programs nationwide.
• Serving on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Veteran Employment and Military Spouse Employment Councils.
• Working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation on the “Hiring 100,000 Military Spouses” campaign to help military spouses seeking meaningful 21st-century career opportunities. As a founding coalition member in 2021, HCA Healthcare hired more than 1,100 military spouses.

HCA Healthcare has a longstanding commitment to U.S. veteran and military communities. This year, the company is giving $50,000 to REBOOT Recovery, a national peer-led trauma healing program for veterans, their families and first responders, to assist in rewriting their military curriculum.

HCA Healthcare is also giving $25,000 to Fisher House Foundation to build a second house in San Antonio, Texas for military families to stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital or VA Medical Center and $25,000 to the Gary Sinise Foundation, which has completed over 80 specially adapted smart homes for severely wounded veterans and first responders.

In the past five years, the company has given approximately $900,000 to national and local veteran support organizations.

In addition, HCA Healthcare has been nationally recognized as a military-friendly employer and military-spouse friendly employer for 12 consecutive years by VIQTORY and, in 2021, received the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.

In 2015, HCA Healthcare received the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring our Heroes – Lee Anderson Award for overall excellence in hiring and retaining veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses.

Accredited by The Joint Commission, HCA Florida Brandon Hospital is a 436-bed acute care facility that is nationally ranked as a Top 100 Hospital by IBM Watson.

The hospital offers a number of specialty services including a Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence, Children’s Emergency Center, Burn and Plastic Surgery Center, Weight Loss Surgery Center of Excellence, Comprehensive Stroke Center and The Women’s Center, which includes the baby suites and Level III neonatal intensive care units.

Additional services include an orthopedic program, comprehensive hand program and lymphedema surgery. The hospital’s ER is one of the busiest in the state, with adult and children’s centers on its main campus and five additional emergency locations in Lakeland, New Tampa, Plant City, Riverview and Temple Terrace. The hospital is located at 119 Oakfield Drive in Brandon.

To see Brandon Hospital’s full Leapfrog grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, click here.