Adventist Health Hanford medical center image via Adventist Health Facebook page

Kaiser Permanente Fresno and two Adventist Health hospitals in Selma and Hanford earned “A” Grades for hospital safety this spring from The Leapfrog Group, which evaluates patient safety using data, surveys and other sources.

The nonprofit’s hospital ratings program focuses on preventable medical errors that kill more than 500 patients per day nationwide. Leapfrog assigns “A” to “F” grades to nearly 3,000 hospitals on more than 30 measures of errors, accidents, injuries and infections and what hospitals have put into place to prevent them.

Adventist Health Central California Network has two hospitals with top grades.

“This accomplishment represents our ongoing commitment to providing excellent safety and quality outcomes for our community,” said Ghassan Jamaleddine, MD, medical officer of Adventist Health Central California Network.

Kaiser Permanente Fresno also earned the highest grade.

“This top safety rating reflects the dedication of our physicians, nurses and staff who deliver exceptional care to our members and patients every day,” said Shahzad Jahromi, MD, physician in chief for Kaiser Permanente Fresno. 

In addition to local Adventist and Kaiser hospitals receiving “A” grades, both providers saw their affiliated California hospitals receive the score, including Adventist centers in Glendale, Templeton, Ukiah and Los Angeles, as well as 21 additional Kaiser locations throughout California.

Roughly 30% of California hospitals received the nonprofit organization’s top grade.

Leapfrog Group President Leah Binder said that the dedication put forth by the hospitals is something to take pride in, adding that “A” grades take a full effort on the part of hospitals to achieve.

Other local hospitals received Leapfrog Group ratings, with Clovis Community Medical Center and Community Regional Medical Center receiving “B” and “C” grades, respectively. Fresno-based Saint Agnes Medical Center received a “D” rating from Leapfrog.

“Quality care and patient safety is our top priority, so we often use comparative benchmarks like Leapfrog to push us even further by implementing new strategies, analyzing current processes and procedures, and promoting exceptional quality care every day for every patient,” said Thomas Utecht, M.D., senior VP and chief medical officer for Community Medical Centers, which operate both Community Regional Medical Center and Clovis Community Medical Center.

A statement from Saint Agnes says patient safety is a core value and top priority. It points out the data shown is nearly two years old and does not reflect the most up-to-date quality metrics at Saint Agnes.

“Saint Agnes’ colleagues, clinicians and providers are dedicated to providing a healing, safe environment for all who walk through our doors,” says Gurvinder Kaur, MD, MHA, president and market leader. “Patient safety is at the forefront of our daily work and we remain committed to the community we serve in alignment with our mission.”

Kaweah Health in Visalia received a “C” rating, with Porterville’s Sierra View Medical Center receiving a “D” grade.

Adventist Health opened its first medical center in Hanford in 1965. Since then, the network has expanded to include 25 locations ranging from Oregon to Hawaii. Adventist Health acquired Central Valley General Hospital in Hanford in 1998 and Selma Community Hospital in 1999, part of its expansion throughout the Central Valley through the late ‘90s.

Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has 37 hospitals and more than 400 medical offices throughout California. It has nearly 175,000 employees serving approximately 9.3 million members.

Details on The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Guide for both locations can be found at their website.