Mount St. Mary's receives top grade in hospital safety grade report

Only Niagara County hospital to receive an ‘A’

Mount St. Mary’s was the only hospital in Niagara County to receive an “A” in The Leapfrog Group’s fall 2019 Hospital Safety Grade Report of more than 2,600 hospitals across the country.

This is the third consecutive “A” for the Catholic Health hospital since fall of 2018, making it a quality and patient safety leader in Niagara County.

Straight “A” hospitals are a rare breed, with less than 8% of hospitals in New York earning Leapfrog’s current top grade. Not only do they achieve the highest national standards for safety, but they consistently maintain that level of excellence. According to The Leapfrog Group, which assigns grade as part of its biannual safety report. Its rating system is based on how well hospitals protect patients from medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections.

The grades are calculated by a national expert panel and are peer reviewed before release. They’re based on 28 safety measures, such as responsiveness of staff, infection rates and how frequently foreign objects like sponges or tools are accidentally left in patients undergoing surgery.

“Our health care team at Mount St. Mary’s continues to offer excellent care, focused on quality and patient safety. Leapfrog awards the top safety grade to the highest-performing hospitals, and we are proud not only to be the only ‘A’ in Niagara County, but also amongst such a small percentage of high-performers in New York state,” said C.J. Urlaub, president of Mount St. Mary’s Hospital.

A press release said, “The Leapfrog Group’s continued recognition of Mount St. Mary’s Hospital as a top-rated hospital is a direct result of the hard work and compassionate care of the nurses, physicians, associates and volunteers who have a dedicated focus on quality and patient safety.”

“ ‘A’ hospitals show us their leadership protecting patients from preventable medical harm and error,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “It takes genuine commitment at every level – from clinicians to administrators to the board of directors – and we congratulate the teams who have worked so hard to earn this A.”

Based in Washington, D.C., The Leapfrog Group is a leading industry watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of health care committed to improving quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The letter grade scoring system allows consumers to quickly assess the safety of their local hospital at www.hospitalsafetygrade.org to make more informed decisions.