FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Virginia Is a Top Two State in the Nation, According to New Patient Safety Ranking

May 15, 2019

New Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Grade Scores show 35 Virginia Hospitals Earning “A” Grades; Virginia’s Overall Ranking Improves from Number Three in the Fall 2018 Rating to Number Two in the Spring 2019 Grades

RICHMOND, VA – Virginia hospitals continue to distinguish themselves in national measures of health care quality and patient safety performance. The latest example of that is the Spring 2019 Hospital Safety Grade scores from the Leapfrog Group showing that Virginia is ranked second in the nation, an improvement from the Fall 2018 scores when Virginia was third overall. The state rankings reflect the number of “A” graded hospitals in a given state. In all, 35 Virginia hospitals received “A” grades from Leapfrog, a national health care patient safety ranking organization. Virginia has shown steady improvement in the Leapfrog rankings, moving up from fifth overall among states in the Spring 2018 grading period. Now, Virginia is one of the two best states in the nation. These scores are another positive reflection of the ongoing work being done in Virginia’s community hospitals and health systems to enhance health care quality, safety, and service for patients.

“Virginia’s hospitals and health systems have dedicated themselves to making Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. While we know achieving that lofty goal won’t happen overnight, members of the Virginia hospital community are intentional about collaborating, forging partnerships, and developing strategies to improve the health care delivery system in the Commonwealth,” said Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. “Continuing efforts to address population health and social factors that impact public wellbeing, to provide for community behavioral health and substance abuse treatment needs, to be prepared to respond to community emergencies when they arise, and to enhance patient and family experience while improving health care quality and safety are a few of the ways Virginia hospitals rise to the occasion 24/7/365. These new Leapfrog scores, along with other recent accolades for Virginia hospitals, demonstrate that all that work is having a positive effect in the Commonwealth.”

In addition to the latest Leapfrog scores, more than a dozen Virginia hospitals earned places on the “America’s Best Hospitals for 2019” annual list complied by Healthgrades, including two hospitals each that made the “America’s 50 Best Hospitals” (top 1 percent of hospitals) and “America’s 100 Best Hospitals” (top 2 percent of hospitals) lists, respectively. The annual “Best Hospitals” list includes 250 hospitals representing the top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation for overall clinical excellence that year, according to Healthgrades. This year’s list was released in February.

Just last month, three Virginia hospitals were named to the “100 Great Hospitals in America” list compiled by Becker’s Hospital Review. These acknowledgements are in addition to individual service line designations of excellence and certifications achieved on a regular basis by hospitals throughout Virginia.

Last year, Virginia earned the “2018 HRET HIIN Quality Award” presented by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Health Research & Education Trust (HRET). The award recognizes exemplary dedication and leadership in advancing the quality and safety of health care for patients.

And in 2017, Virginia was ranked among the top 10 states in an assessment of health care quality as measured by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Health care quality and patient safety improvement is a strategic priority for VHHA and its member hospitals and health systems in the Commonwealth. VHHA’s Center for Healthcare Excellence serves as a facilitator for collaborative efforts on a wide range of quality and safety improvement initiatives. The Center for Healthcare Excellence was launched in January 2015 under the guidance of the VHHA Board of Directors.

Through the Center, Virginia hospitals have been engaged with the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks (HIIN) program. The HIIN work builds on momentum from the predecessor Hospital Engagement Networks (HEN) initiative that in its second phase resulted in the prevention of 1,851 patient harm incidents at 35 participating hospitals (equivalent to more than $16.5 million in health care costs savings) across the Commonwealth.

VHHA previously released Patient and Family Experience tools to support hospitals and clinical staff in an effort to make patients and their families feel welcome and comfortable as partners in the care and treatment process. These tools, which can be accessed through the Patient and Family Experience page on the VHHA website, include the Patient and Family Experience Improvement Guide and the Virginia Hospital Patient Experience Data Dashboard.

In addition to pursuing organizational improvement, Virginia’s hospitals have also demonstrated a commitment to transparency by making the Quality and Patient Safety Scorecards tool publicly available online through VHHA’s website. The scorecards measure quality and patient safety performance in Virginia’s hospitals on metrics including health care-associated infections, patient safety, hospital readmission rates, mortality data, patient satisfaction, and the efficiency of Medicare spending per beneficiary.

The Leapfrog program has been assigning letter grades to general acute care hospitals in the U.S. since 2012. Across the country, hospitals have made remarkable strides in improving patient safety. In recent years, Virginia hospitals have consistently scored well in the Leapfrog rankings. In the latest rankings, 35 of 66 Virginia hospitals evaluated by Leapfrog earned “A” grades, placing the Commonwealth second among states in the nation. Current “A” rated Virginia hospitals include:

• Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center
• Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital
• Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital
• Carilion New River Valley Medical Center
• CJW Medical Center – Chippenham Campus (HCA Virginia)
• CJW Medical Center – Johnston-Willis Campus (HCA Virginia)
• Clinch Valley Medical Center (LifePoint Health)
• Henrico Doctors’ Hospital (HCA Virginia)
• Inova Alexandria Hospital
• Inova Fair Oaks Hospital
• Inova Fairfax Hospital
• Inova Loudoun Hospital
• Inova Mount Vernon Hospital
• John Randolph Medical Center (HCA Virginia)
• LewisGale Hospital Alleghany (HCA Virginia)
• LewisGale Hospital Montgomery (HCA Virginia)
• LewisGale Medical Center (HCA Virginia)
• Lonesome Pine Hospital (Ballad Health)
• Mountain View Regional Hospital (Ballad Health)
• Norton Community Hospital (Ballad Health)
• Novant Health UVA Health System Culpeper Medical Center
• Novant Health UVA Health System Haymarket Medical Center
• Novant Health UVA Health System Prince William Medical Center
• Parham Doctors’ Hospital (HCA Virginia)
• Retreat Doctors’ Hospital (HCA Virginia)
• Sentara CarePlex Hospital
• Sentara Leigh Hospital
• Sentara Obici Hospital
• Sentara Princess Anne Hospital
• Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center
• Stafford Hospital (Mary Washington Healthcare)
• Twin County Regional Healthcare (Duke LifePoint Healthcare)
• University of Virginia Medical Center
• VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital
• Virginia Hospital Center

 Virginia hospitals named to Healthgrades “America’s Best Hospitals for 2019” list include: Augusta Health (America’s 50 Best Hospitals), Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center (America’s 50 Best Hospitals), Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center, Centra Lynchburg General Hospital, HCA Virginia’s Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, HCA Virginia’s Parham Doctors’ Hospital, HCA Virginia’s Retreat Doctors’ Hospital, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital (America’s 100 Best Hospitals), Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Loudoun Hospital, Sentara CarePlex Hospital, Sentara Leigh Hospital (America’s 100 Best Hospitals), Sentara Princess Anne Hospital, Sentara RMH Medical Center, and Sentara Virginia Beach Hospital.

Virginia hospitals named to the Becker’s Hospital Review “100 Great Hospitals in America” list for 2019 include: Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, University of Virginia Medical Center, and VCU Health Medical Center.

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 110 hospitals and 27 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its vision is to achieve excellence in both health care and health. Its vision is through the power of collaboration to be recognized as a driving force behind making Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, and ISupportVirginiaHospitals.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Julian Walker
Vice President of Communications
(804) 297-3193 office
(804) 304-7402 mobile
jtwalker@vhha.com