May 10, 2022 (Warwick, RI) -- Kent Hospital received an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for Spring 2022. This national distinction recognizes Kent Hospital’s achievements in protecting patients from preventable harm and error in the hospital.
“It is an honor to be recognized by Leapfrog with this notable achievement. In recent years, we at Kent Hospital have implemented a number of patient safety best practices, targeted at improving efforts to avoid harm to patients, which has not only improved patient experience but ensured the safety and well-being of all who come to our hospital seeking care and treatment. My staff and I are so pleased that our efforts are being recognized on a national level,” said Paari Gopalakrishnan, MD, MBA, president and COO, Kent Hospital.
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over thirty national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries, and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital rating program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.
“As our health care system continues to feel the strain of the pandemic, I thank the workforce and leadership of Kent Hospital for sustained commitment to patient safety, day in and day out,” said Leah Binder, president, and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An ‘A’ Safety Grade is an outstanding achievement and one that is not possible without a 24/7 effort by the entire health care workforce to protect patients from harm. This community should be proud.”
Kent Hospital, a Care New England hospital, is a 359-bed, acute care hospital. It is Rhode Island’s second largest hospital, serving approximately 300,000 residents of central Rhode Island. A teaching affiliate of The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Kent offers programs in emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, and in hyperbaric medicine and gastroenterology. Kent’s Emergency Department (ED) sees approximately 70,000 patients a year and ranks Kent’s ED volume among the top 10-percent nationally. Kent Hospital is one of four hospitals in Rhode Island to perform emergency angioplasty and the only one south of Providence to do so. Kent’s cardiology program and some surgical services are provided locally through a long-standing clinical affiliation with Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Same-day surgery is performed in the state-of-the-art Ambulatory Surgery Center located on the second floor of the Ambulatory Services Pavilion, while patients can access an array of medical professionals on the first floor, medical office building.
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward for patient safety. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, 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. For more, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for our newsletter.