| BMC Achieves Leapfrog Patient Safety Award |
| June 7, 2012 For Immediate Release Berkshire Medical Center Awarded an “A” for Patient Safety by Hospital Safety ScoreSM Berkshire Medical Center was honored with an “A” Hospital Safety ScoreSM by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The Hospital Safety ScoreSM was calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel using publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections. U.S. hospitals were assigned an A, B, C, D, or F for their safety. “This important recognition is another example of Berkshire Health Systems’ strong commitment to continually improve the care we provide to our community,” said David Phelps, President and CEO of BHS. “This high mark for BMC from The Leapfrog Group is an objective measure of BMC’s status as a top performer in patient safety and our community can be confident that the care they receive is second to none.” “Healthcare professionals from across numerous disciplines at BMC strive to provide the highest quality care, day in and day out, dedicated to our organization’s mission to improve the health status of all who live in Berkshire County and surrounding communities,” said Diane Kelly, RN, BMC Chief Operating Officer. “It’s The Leapfrog Group’s goal to give patients the information they need and deserve before even entering a hospital,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We congratulate the hospitals that earned an ‘A’ and we look forward to the day when all hospitals in the U.S. will earn the highest scores for putting patient safety first.” To see BMC’s scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, the Hospital Safety ScoreSM website, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay. Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group’s nine-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The panel includes: John Birkmeyer (University of Michigan), Ashish Jha (Harvard University), Lucian Leape (Harvard University), Arnold Millstein (Stanford University), Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins University), Patrick Romano (University of California, Davis), Sara Singer (Harvard University), Tim Vogus (Vanderbilt University), and Robert Wachter (University of California, San Francisco). About The Leapfrog Group The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national 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. |
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