St. David's HealthCare Facilities Earn National Distinction For Excellence in Patient Safety by Hospital Safety Score(SM)

AUSTIN, Texas, May 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 8, 2013, several St. David's HealthCare facilities—St. David's Medical Center, St. David's North Austin Medical Center, St. David's Round Rock Medical Center and St. David's Georgetown Hospital—were honored with an "A" Hospital Safety Score^SM by The Leapfrog Group. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits.

Scores of A, B, C, D or F were assigned to U.S. hospitals based on preventable medical errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. The scores are designed to give the public information to protect themselves and their families.

"Our doctors, nurses and staff members are dedicated to creating healthcare environments that are safe from infections, injuries and errors," Thomas Knight, M.D., chief medical officer of St. David's HealthCare, said. "We applaud our caregivers for providing exceptional care to every patient, every day, and we thank The Leapfrog Group for recognizing their efforts."

Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group's eight-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital's overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The panel includes:

• John Birkmeyer (University of Michigan)
• Ashish Jha (Harvard University)
• Arnold Millstein (Stanford University)
• Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins University)
• Patrick Romano (University of California, Davis)
• Sara Singer (Harvard University)
• Tim Vogus (Vanderbilt University)
• Robert Wachter (University of California, San Francisco)

"Earning an 'A' on the Hospital Safety Score demonstrates that these hospitals have exhibited excellence in our national database of patient safety measures," Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said. "I'd like to congratulate these St. David's HealthCare hospitals for their achievements and encourage them to continue to put a priority on the safety of their patients."

To see St. David's HealthCare's scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit the Hospital Safety Score website at hospitalsafetyscore.org. The website also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and their loved ones during a hospital stay.

Heart Hospital of Austin's data were not included in the study completed by The Leapfrog Group because it is considered a specialty hospital.

St. David's HealthCare
With more than 60 sites across Central Texas, St. David's HealthCare includes seven of the area's leading hospitals and is one of the largest health systems in Texas. Known for compassionate, high-quality care, the organization has been recognized with the Texas Award for Performance Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the State of Texas based upon world-class quality measures. In 2013, two of the system's facilities—St. David's Medical Center and St. David's North Austin Medical Center—were named among the nation's 100 Top Hospitals by Truven Health Analytics (formerly Thomson Reuters), a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of healthcare. St. David's HealthCare was also recognized as one of the top 15 health systems in the U.S. by Thomson Reuters in 2012. Additionally, St. David's Medical Center—which includes Heart Hospital of Austin—was named a Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospital for 2013. Perennially ranked as the top Austin-area employer among large companies by the Austin Business Journal's annual "Best Places to Work" survey, St. David's HealthCare is the third-largest private employer in the Austin area, with more than 7,900 employees. For more information, please visit StDavids.com.

The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group (LeapfrogGroup.org) is a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of healthcare to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of healthcare for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders, and it is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.

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SOURCE St. David’s HealthCare