Holyoke Medical Center Awarded ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade from Leapfrog Group

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Medical Center received an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit upholding standards of patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. This national distinction celebrates Holyoke Medical Center’s achievements in prioritizing patient safety by protecting patients from preventable harm and errors. The new grades reflect performance primarily during the height of the pandemic.

“Holyoke Medical Center is proud to have earned the ‘A’ recognition from the Leapfrog Group as it acknowledges the hard work of all team members at every level of our organization for their commitment to safety and patient-centered care,” says Spiros Hatiras, president and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems Inc.

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an ‘A,’ ‘B,’ ‘C,’ ‘D,’ or ‘F’ grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries, and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

“This new update of Hospital Safety Grades shows that, at the national level, we saw deterioration in patient safety with the pandemic,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group. “But this hospital received an ‘A’ despite those challenges. I congratulate all the leaders, staff, volunteers, and clinicians who together made that possible.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.