Lakeland Regional Health
Earns ‘B’ Grade on Leapfrog
Hospital Safety Scorecard

Lakeland, FL – Lakeland Regional Health is pleased to announce it earned a B on the Hospital Safety Scorecard from the Leapfrog Group today. This is the sixth time it earned a grade of “B” or higher in the last five years.

“Our physicians, clinicians, and our entire team at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center continue to provide high-quality, safe and efficient care to our patients,” said Timothy J. Regan, MD, President, Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center President/Chief Medical Officer, Lakeland Regional Health. “Through the development of our Clinical Quality Improvement Initiative, our organization remains steadfast in its commitment to exceed national standards of care by providing an extremely high level of clinical excellence to our patients.”

The Leapfrog Group compares more than 2,600 hospitals using rigorous reporting criteria for 28measures.

The voluntary, free Leapfrog Group Survey is conducted twice a year by the national not-for-profit organization and is focused on promoting transparency and value-based hospital incentives. The rating signifies how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries, accidents and infections. Leapfrog not only uses data from its survey but also from other sources, such as the American Hospital Association and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“This newly released data confirms that we are achieving our goal to deliver the safest, highest quality care by leveraging our digital platforms to significantly reduce the risk of human error,” saidCaroline Gay, Lakeland Regional Health Senior Vice President. “Our performance on Leapfrog’s patient safety measures indicates the effectiveness of our safety initiatives, such as nurses consistently matching bar codes prior to administering medications, physicians entering their orders electronically to avoid miscommunication, and our entire organization diligently following protocols,such has handwashing, to reduce the spread of infections.”

The Medical Center has maintained its solid performance on outcome measures, which include fall rates, hospital-acquired infections and post-surgery events, while improving on safe-practice measures.

“These indicators are a measure of our organization’s focus and dedication to safety,” said Hal Escowitz, MD, Chief Quality Officer and Chief Medical Informatics Officer. “We enhanced our Medical Center’s resources around quality and patient safety to ensure every interaction of clinical care is rooted in best practice to drive the best outcomes for our patients.”
In addition to the recent grade on the Leapfrog Scorecard, Lakeland Regional Health has earned a number of national safety and quality recognitions in the last year. In fall 2019, Lakeland Regional Health became one of only 10 health systems around the world and the first health system in Florida to earn Stage 6 on the HIMSS Analytics AMAM (Adoption Model for Analytics Maturity). The AMAM is an international benchmark for the use of advanced analytics to improve patient care. For the fifth time in six years, Lakeland Regional Health was recognized as a Most Wired hospital and health system. Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center also earned a prestigious spot among the top 25 in Florida in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospital Rankings in summer 2019.

 

About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national not-for- profit organization driving a movement for quality and safety in American healthcare. The Hospital Survey and the Hospital Safety Score are two of Leapfrog’s big initiatives, collecting and transparently reporting hospital performance and allowing consumers to find the highest-value care and make informed decisions.

About Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center
Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center is Florida’s fifth largest hospital. Founded in 1916 as Morrell Memorial Hospital, this 892-bed, comprehensive tertiary referral hospital operates the Jack and Tina Harrell Family Institute for Advanced Cardiovascular Medicine; a Level II Trauma Center; the Carol Jenkins Barnett Pavilion for Women and Children, which includes a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; and the Bannasch Institute for Advanced Rehabilitation Medicine. The Medical Center holds high-level accreditations for its Certified Comprehensive Center and Chest Pain Center. Three hybrid operating rooms and a catheterization lab offer patients the least invasive surgeries possible and enhanced safety. The Medical Center is home to the nation’s busiest single site Emergency Department and handles over 3,000 trauma visits annually.

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