CHI Franciscan Remains the Highest-Ranked System for Patient Safety in Washington State

TACOMA, Wash., May 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CHI Franciscan has earned the most 'A' safety grades and remains the highest-ranked system across all health systems in Washington state, according to the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades report released by the Leapfrog Group.  

The report card uses 27 evidence-based measures indicating how well hospitals prevent errors, injuries, and infections, and assign A, B, C, D, and F grades to more than 2,600 acute-care hospitals across the nation.

"CHI Franciscan continues to demonstrate our commitment to deliver the highest quality care to our patients and communities," said Ketul J. Patel, chief executive officer of CHI Franciscan. "This achievement is a true testament of our team's dedication to safe health care practices, particularly as we experience the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am so proud of the collective effort from our physicians, nurses, caregivers, and team members to continue our trajectory of high performance, all while overcoming new challenges every day." 

CHI Franciscan maintained the high patient safety grades it earned in fall 2019, including five 'A' grade hospitals – St. Joseph Medical Center, St. Anthony Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, Harrison Medical Center Bremerton, and Harrison Medical Center Silverdale. Two – Highline Medical Center and St. Clare Hospital – earned 'B' grades.

"Patient and hospital safety is our top priority. Difficult times like these underscore the importance of implementing the best safety practices to deliver the safest, high-quality care and service to all of our patients. These consecutively high marks are a direct reflection of our excellent staff and their commitment to patient safety," said Michael Anderson, MD, chief medical officer of CHI Franciscan.

The Leapfrog Group's ratings are updated every six months, once in the fall and again in the spring.

About CHI Franciscan

CHI Franciscan is a Catholic nonprofit health system based in Tacoma, Washington. One of the largest health systems in Washington state, CHI Franciscan is comprised of more than 12,500 physicians, advanced practice clinicians, nurses, and staff that provide expert, compassionate medical care at 10 acute care hospitals and more than 220 primary and specialty care clinics throughout the greater Puget Sound. As part of CommonSpirit Health, and as a member of every community we serve, we bring together medicine, kindness, respect, and compassion to help people truly begin to heal. We honor our values and legacy by investing in our communities. In 2019 we provided $197 million in community benefits, including free, subsidized, and reduced cost health care and programs. We are also the only Washington State hospital system that accepts an unlimited number of Medicaid patients. Follow CHI Franciscan on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CHIFranciscan, Twitter @CHIFranciscan and Instagram @chi.franciscan or go to our website for information www.chifranciscan.org.

About Leapfrog Group

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. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade 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.

SOURCE CHI Franciscan