Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital Nationally Recognized with an ‘A’ for Safety

BIG RAPIDS, April 30, 2020 –Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital has earned an ‘A’ grade from The Leapfrog Group for patient safety. The designation recognizes efforts and outcomes by hospital staff in protecting patients from harm and providing exceptional care.

“We’re very excited with the distinction,” said Andrea Leslie, president of Spectrum Health Big Rapids, Reed City, United and Kelsey Hospitals. “It’s a credit to the continual efforts of our entire clinical team and many employees focused on patient safety.”

Big Rapids Hospital was one of six Spectrum Health West Michigan hospitals that were awarded ‘As’ in the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. Spectrum Health United Hospital, Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital, Spectrum Health Lakeland St. Joseph Hospital, Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital and Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital were also recognized by Leapfrog for providing safer health care.

United Hospital and Zeeland Community Hospital were cited with Leapfrog’s “Straight As” honor for earning at least five consecutive A’s. Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital and Spectrum Health Lakeland Niles Hospital each earned a ‘B’ in the Leapfrog rankings.

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade is a letter grade assigned to all general hospitals across the country and updated every six months, assessing how well the hospital prevents medical errors and other harms to patients.

“I’m thrilled for our teams to be recognized with this honor, especially during this time when they are dedicating themselves more than ever to our patients and communities,” said Leslie Jurecko, MD, senior vice president, quality, safety and experience, Spectrum Health.  “A focus on safe, high-quality, compassionate care is central to our mission of improving health, inspiring hope and saving lives. It is at the core of our commitment to those we serve.”

“As the nation copes with a challenging pandemic, our gratitude extends to hospital leadership and health care workers everywhere for their tremendous dedication,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We hope this ‘A’ helps to thank the people who work and volunteer for Spectrum Health. They are role models in putting patients first, and their service has been extraordinary in our country’s time of need.”

Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

 

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 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.

About Spectrum Health
Spectrum Health System, a not-for-profit, integrated health system, is committed to improving the health and wellness of our communities. We live our mission every day with 31,000 compassionate professionals, 4,500 medical staff experts, 3,300 committed volunteers and a health plan serving 1 million members. Our talented physicians and caregivers are privileged to offer a full continuum of care and wellness services to our communities through 14 hospitals, including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, 155 ambulatory sites and telehealth offerings. We pursue health care solutions for today and tomorrow that diversify our offerings. Locally-governed and based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, our health system provided $585 million in community benefit in fiscal year 2019. Thanks to the generosity of our communities, we received $30 million in philanthropy in the most recent fiscal year to support research, academics, innovation and clinical care. Spectrum Health has been recognized as one of the nation’s 15 Top Health Systems by Truven Health Analytics®, part of IBM Watson Health^TM.

 

Contact:
John Norton
Corporate Communications Manager
Office: 231.592.4387
Mobile: 231.580.1079
Email: john.norton@corewellhealth.org