Orlando Health hospitals awarded top grades for patient safety

Orlando, FL (April 12, 2017) – Orlando Health’s Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) and South Seminole Hospital were recently awarded “A” hospital safety grades by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit organization operated by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. Orlando Health’s Health Central Hospital and South Lake Hospital, in affiliation with Orlando Health, were awarded “B” grades.  Grades are based on a point system that assigns – then calculates – numerical scores of 30 healthcare measures such as patient experience, training, hospital culture, as well as hospitals’ rates for preventable medical errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. All Orlando Health hospitals scored higher this rating period than the previous October 2016 rating period.

“The increase in scores at all five hospitals is a direct result of the hard work of doctors, nurses, clinicians and the entire Orlando Health team,” said Thomas Kelley, MD, chief of quality and clinical transformation, Orlando Health.  “This current Leapfrog rating period further demonstrates our priority to providing safe, high quality care to all patients treated at our facilities.” 

Across the system, the organization has targeted specific areas for quality improvement, successfully implemented initiatives to address them, and developed a sustainable structure to support the improvement processes.  Orlando Health’s focus on quality has resulted in numerous awards and recognitions including its fourth consecutive 3-Star Overall rating for bypass surgery and lobectomies from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Perinatal Care Certification from The Joint Commission which recognizes Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies for its integrated, coordinated and patient-centered care for mothers and newborns from prenatal through postpartum care, and the silver-level Beacon Awards for Excellence from The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) for ORMC’s Intensive Care Unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. 

“I am so very proud of our entire team,” said David Strong, president and CEO, Orlando Health.  “Everyone in the organization has shown their collective and unwavering effort to achieve the highest quality standards in the care and treatment of every patient who walks through our doors.”  

To view Orlando Health’s Leapfrog scores, visit the Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.