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November 5, 2015

Cooley Dickinson earns an ‘A’ for patient safety in Leapfrog’s fall 2015 Hospital Safety Score

November 5, 2015

For immediate release: Nov. 5, 2015

Cooley Dickinson Hospital earned an ‘A’ grade in The Leapfrog Group’s elite national ratings program, recognizing its strong commitment to patient safety. Fewer than one third of hospitals earned the top grade.

The Leapfrog Group recently released this year’s grades of about 2500 hospitals nationwide reflecting their performance on safety procedures and outcomes.

The Hospital Safety Score is the gold standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, independent nonprofit. It is the first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety.

“I am proud of Cooley Dickinson’s providers and staff who take steps every day to ensure that patients receive safe, high-quality care,” said Joanne Marqusee, president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Health Care.

“Our commitment to patient safety is a multi-pronged approach that involves skilled employees and dedicated leaders who make safe systems and teamwork a priority.  We are gratified to see that our commitment to safe practices and a culture of safety is being recognized. We also recognize we have more to do and will continue to look for opportunities to improve.”

Continuous Commitment to Safety
“Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s A grade is a powerful reminder of its commitment to putting patient safety above all else, and we are pleased to recognize the persistent efforts of your clinicians and staff to protect your patients,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, which administers the Hospital Safety Score.

“Our families, neighbors, colleagues and friends deserve a hospital that will pull out all the stops to keep them safe, and we urge Cooley Dickinson and all other ‘A’ hospitals to preserve and renew your commitment to safety year after year.”

Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single A, B, C, D, or F score, representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm.

The Hospital Safety Score is fully transparent, offering a full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades on the website. Patients can also review their hospital’s past safety performance alongside its current grade on the Hospital Safety Score site.

To see Cooley Dickinson’s full score, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org or follow The Hospital Safety Score on Twitter or Facebook. Consumers can also download the free Hospital Safety Score mobile app for Apple and Android devices.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. Hospital Safety Score, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

About Cooley Dickinson

Cooley Dickinson Hospital, a Massachusetts General Hospital Affiliate, is an acute care community hospital that offers medical/surgical, orthopedic, obstetric/gynecologic, psychiatric, geriatric, palliative, emergency, ambulatory, diagnostic, and rehabilitation services; along with Cooley Dickinson VNA & Hospice, which provides home health and hospice nursing and rehabilitation visits; and Cooley Dickinson Medical Group, comprised of primary and specialty care physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, and other providers.  Cooley Dickinson Health Care serves Hampshire and Southern Franklin County residents in the Five-College region of the Pioneer Valley.