Cooley Dickinson Hospital Earns ‘A’ Safety Grade from Leapfrog Group

NORTHAMPTON — Cooley Dickinson Hospital earned an ‘A’ in the spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction which recognizes the hospital’s achievements in providing safer healthcare.

According to The Leapfrog Group, the safety grade is a letter grade assigned to all general hospitals across the country and updated every six months, assessing how well a hospital prevents medical errors and other harms to patients.

“The staff and providers at Cooley Dickinson have worked hard to achieve these outstanding results,” said Dr. David Brown, Cooley Dickinson’s interim president and CEO. “I’m proud that we have been recognized by the Leapfrog Group for the high quality of care we provide.”

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Estevan Garcia noted that the latest grade is the fourth consecutive ‘A’ Cooley Dickinson has received. “Despite the year-long COVID-19 pandemic, our staff continue to work exceptionally hard. To all the teams of clinicians across the organization, thank you for your diligence every day and for keeping each patient at the center of what you do.”

Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

“As the nation copes with a challenging pandemic, our gratitude extends to hospital leadership and healthcare workers everywhere for their tremendous dedication,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group. “We hope this ‘A’ helps to thank the people who work and volunteer at Cooley Dickinson. They are role models in putting patients first, and their service has been extraordinary in our country’s time of need.”