Hospitals demonstrate how to earn an A for safety from The Leapfrog Group

Greenwich and Westerly hospitals’ recent success in earning A grades for safety from The Leapfrog Group can be analyzed in many ways, but Yale New Haven Health Quality and Safety experts said the tactics that always help improve grades include teamwork, diligence and consistency.

In other words, when it comes to safety, do it together, do it as thoroughly as possible, and do it every single time.

“Sustaining and improving safety grades means staying laser-focused on everyday behaviors that prevent harm,” said Elizabeth Crespo, RN, senior analyst, YNHHS Quality and Safety. “That includes preventing infections, ensuring medication safety and reliably following high-risk protocols.”

Teams at all YNHHS hospitals do these well, but looking at what Greenwich and Westerly have done to earn their A grades is beneficial, like a course review before the next exam.

“Greenwich’s success reflects strong structural elements that have been hardwired into daily practice,” said Stacey Peace, RN, regional manager for Quality and Safety, Greenwich Hospital. “Robust infrastructure, adherence to evidence-based best practices and sustained continual improvement show true commitment to patient safety and high-reliability care.”
These foundational practices combined with continued improvement in falls prevention, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and post-surgical complications have been key in obtaining the A grade, she said.

At Westerly Hospital, frontline clinical teams’ work to reduce infection rates has been a big driver in earning the Leapfrog A grade, said Schuyler Widhalm, RN, regional manager for Quality and Safety, L+M and Westerly hospitals.

“We’ve seen engagement from so many people at the hospital – in Infection Prevention, Nursing, leadership – to reduce HAIs and surgical site infections.”

As another example, Widhalm noted that Leapfrog carefully examines Patient Safety Indicator (PSI) scores for complications from pressure injuries, falls and fractures, trauma, surgical hemorrhage, post-op respiratory failure and other factors.

To address falls, Westerly Hospital staff ensure patients get out of bed as soon as possible and walk on the units to build strength, which reduces fall risk. It also helps prevent pneumonia and pressure injuries, and patients go home stronger so they are less likely to be readmitted, she said.

That’s how teamwork, diligence and consistency play out in practice.

“To see the staff constantly trying to improve safety speaks to how invested and engaged they are,” Widhalm said. “As Quality and Safety specialists, we bring teams together, provide education and make sure people have the support and resources they need. We believe continued engagement and collaboration will keep bringing enhanced safety results across our entire system.”