NUMC EXCELS IN PATIENT SAFETY—AWARDED AN “”A”” IN SPRING AND FALL 2014 HOSPITAL SAFETY SCORE FROM THE LEAPFROG GROUP

Victor F. Politi, MD, FACP, FACEP      
President/CEO       

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2014

PRESS CONTACT:
Shelley Lotenberg
shelley@numc.edu
516-572-6055

NUMC EXCELS IN PATIENT SAFETY—AWARDED AN “A” IN SPRING AND FALL 2014 HOSPITAL SAFETY SCORE FROM THE LEAPFROG GROUP

East Meadow, NY………. October 29, 2014 – Victor F. Politi, MD, FACP, FACEP, President/CEO of the NuHealth System, announces that the Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) has achieved an “A” score in hospital safety for the Fall 2014, following receiving the “A” award in Spring 2014 also. Designed to rate how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections, the latest Hospital Safety Score honored NUMC with an “A” – its top grade in patient safety. The Hospital Safety Score is compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety and is administered by The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the Score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.

“Receiving an “A” Hospital Safety Score from the Leapfrog Group is wonderful news for NUMC’s staff as achieving an “A” requires a tremendous amount of dedicated work from the entire hospital staff and a real commitment to safety as the main priority for all our patients,” stated Dr. Politi. “On behalf of our Board of Directors, I commend every employee for this notable achievement and commitment to overall patient safety.”

The Fall 2014 update to Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Score, which assigns A, B, C, D and F grades to hospitals based on their ability to prevent errors, injuries and infections, shows that while hospitals have made significant improvements when it comes to implementing processes of care and safe practices, performance on outcomes lags behind. Since April 2014, there’s been improvement on all 15 of Leapfrog’s “process” measures—such as hand hygiene and physician staffing in intensive care units.

“While the data tells us that hospitals are improving their safe practices, it’s concerning to see them moving backwards on any measure. Patients enter a hospital trusting they’re in a safe place, but with 41 percent of hospitals receiving a ‘C,’ ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade, it’s clear that some hospitals are safer than others,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog, the not-for-profit organization that administers the Hospital Safety Score.

Binder notes that with up to 400,000 lives lost annually and one in 25 patients acquiring an infection in the hospital, it’s crucial for consumers to be proactive about their health care.
“Consumers have largely taken the time to educate themselves about insurance plans and pricing. Now, we need patients to take the next step, putting safety first, for themselves and their families, and that means seeking out the safest hospitals in their area. The Hospital Safety Score arms consumers with that information,” added Binder.

About The Leapfrog Group
The Hospital Safety Score (www.hospitalsafetyscore.org)  is an initiative of The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org), a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.

ABOUT NUHEALTH
NuHealth is a Long Island health care organization delivering essential medical care and disease and lifestyle management to everyone at every stage of life.  Also known as Nassau Health Care Corporation, NuHealth is a public benefit corporation managing the operations of Nassau Medical Center, A. Holly Patterson Extended Care and a network of Family Health Centers that bring primary and specialty care out into the community.  By emphasizing wellness, cultural sensitivity and collaborative efforts with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, NuHealth is working to make good care more affordable and easier to access.
For more information about NuHealth or its Centers of Care, visit www.nuhealth.net.