Cooley Dickinson Hospital Earns ‘A’ Grade for Patient Safety; Scores in the Top Third of Hospitals Nationwide

For immediate release: April 26, 2016

Cooley Dickinson Hospital was one of 798 hospitals that ranked in the top 31 percent of hospitals nationwide in patient safety according to new Hospital Safety Score letter grades announced yesterday.

The Hospital Safety Scores assign A, B, C, D, and F letter grades to hospitals nationwide and provide the most complete picture of patient safety in the U.S. health care system. The scores were announced by The Leapfrog Group, a national patient safety watchdog.

“Achieving excellence for our patients takes a sustained effort,” said Joanne Marqusee, president and chief executive officer of Cooley Dickinson Health Care. “It is our goal is to make the highest quality health care accessible to our patients. I am proud of Cooley Dickinson’s providers and staff who take steps every day to ensure patients receive safe care.”

“Avoidable deaths in hospitals should be the number one concern of our health care leaders. Hospitals that earn an ‘A’ from Leapfrog are leaders in saving lives, and we commend them and urge their continued vigilance,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.

Hospital Safety Score Methodology
Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals twice per year.

The score is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. For the first time, the Hospital Safety Score includes five measures of patient-reported experience with the hospital as well as two of the most common infections, C. diff and MRSA.

To see Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s full score, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org. 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. Learn more at www.cooley-dickinson.org