Berkshire Medical Center Again Earns ‘A’ Grade for Patient Safety

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Medical Center (BMC) has once again been named among the safest hospitals in the nation by the Leapfrog Group, the nation’s leading nonprofit watchdog on hospital quality and safety. In the new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades announced for the fall of 2017, Berkshire Medical Center once again earned an ‘A.’ BMC has achieved straight ‘A’ grades since the inception of the Safety Grade in 2012, and is one of only 59 hospitals out of more than 2,600 surveyed nationwide to attain this honor.

“Berkshire Medical Center has been, and continues to be, a national leader in providing the safest environment for our patients,” said David Phelps, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. “I congratulate our entire team of caregivers on achieving this extraordinary recognition again this year, which is only achievable through their daily efforts under the leadership of a board and management firmly committed to quality care and patient safety.”

Diane Kelly, chief operating officer, and Dr. Gray Ellrodt, chief quality officer and chairman of Medicine, added that “our consistent performance in patient safety is the result of our team approach to care. Physicians, nurses, advanced-practice professionals, nursing assistants, technologists, therapists, pharmacists, and all of our staff work together to ensure that our patients receive the safest, best care in the nation. We thank every one of them for their dedication to the well-being of our patients each and every day.”

Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group, called straight-A hospitals a rare breed. “Not only do they achieve the highest national standards for safety, but they consistently maintain that level of excellence. That means that they put the well-being of their patients first, every hour of every day, year after year. We are proud to recognize that that tireless commitment.”

Developed under the guidance of an expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign ‘A,’ ‘B,’ ‘C,’ ‘D,’ and ‘F’ grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient-safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.