Glendale Memorial receives higher grade in hospital safety study
Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital improved its standing in a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit’s twice-annual hospital safety assessment, earning a B grade this spring after receiving C grades for several years.
Adventist Health Glendale continued to lead area hospitals, receiving its ninth consecutive A grade. USC Verdugo Hills received a C grade.
The Leapfrog Group gives grades to more than 2,600 hospitals across the country based on 28 measures, including rates of errors, injuries and infections as well as nurse and doctor communication.
Taken together, the measures are supposed to represent a hospital’s overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm.
“We are proud to see the true reflection of the hard work by our dedicated staff and physicians in this year’s B score,” said Jill Welton, president of Glendale Memorial, in a statement.
After receiving last fall’s C grade, Welton said the hospital had already implemented facility improvements that would likely show up in its next grade.
According to Alice Issai, president of Adventist Health, the hospital she oversees is the only one in Glendale and Burbank that has had such a long streak of high marks.
“Earning an A, let alone nine As in a row, is no easy task,” Issai said in a statement. “This achievement is made possible by our amazing team of physicians, clinical staff and associates who have worked so hard to keep patient care, safety and outcomes as the focus of our success.”
USC Verdugo Hills recently implemented intensivist and hospitalist programs, which have been noted in other hospital rating systems, according to Dr. Armand Dorian, the hospital’s chief medical officer.
“We believe future scores will present a more accurate picture of our hospital’s quality and performance, and we remain focused on our true north — delivering beyond exceptional care to the Foothills community,” Dorian said in a statement.
The hospital has received a C since at least 2015.
Of the hospitals graded this past spring, 32% earned an A, 26% received a B, 36% were given a C, 6% received a D and just under 1% got an F, according to Leapfrog’s statistics. Last fall’s assessment reflected a similar breakdown.