Special to Iredell Free News
Iredell Memorial Hospital has earned an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit watchdog organization that serves as a voice for health care consumers.
Leapfrog assigns a letter grade (A-F) to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 measures of errors, accidents, injuries, and infections as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them.
“I am so pleased to see our organization receive the recognition of a Leapfrog A rating,” said John Green, President and CEO of Iredell Health System. “Our entire team deserves the credit of understanding the many Leapfrog requirements and remaining focused on so many important aspects of care provision and quality in order to improve to this status. We believe it is an important example of the quality care that we provide locally in our community.”
This grade was based on several metrics including infection rate, problems with surgery, safety, practices to prevent errors, and doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. Iredell Memorial Hospital scored highly in several practices to prevent errors including safe medication administration, proper handwashing, communication about discharge, staff working together to prevent errors, and using computerized physician order entry systems. The hospital also excelled in providing specially trained doctors and having effective leadership. In terms of preventive care, Iredell performed in the top percentile for preventing harmful events, dangerous bed sores, blood infections, surgical site infections, and air or gas bubbles in the blood, among other preventive measures.
“Everyone who works at Iredell Memorial Hospital should be proud of this ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “It takes complete dedication of at every level, and an ironclad commitment to putting patients first. I thank Iredell Memorial Hospital, its leadership, clinicians, staff, and volunteers for caring so deeply for its patients and their safety.”
LEARN MORE
To see Iredell Memorial Hospital’s full grade details and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.
About Iredell Health System
Iredell Health System includes Iredell Memorial Hospital; Iredell Mooresville; two urgent care centers; Iredell Home Health; Iredell Wound Care & Hyperbaric Center; Community and Corporate Wellness; Occupational Medicine; the Iredell Physician Network and more. Iredell Memorial Hospital is the largest and only nonprofit hospital in Iredell County. The comprehensive healthcare facility has 247 beds; more than 1,800 employees; and has 260 physicians representing various specialties. Centers of excellence include Women’s and Children’s; Cardiovascular; Cancer; Surgical Services and Wellness & Prevention. The Health System’s second campus, Iredell Mooresville, is home to the area’s only 24-hour urgent care facility, as well as an ambulatory surgery center, imaging center, rehabilitation services, and physician practices. The mission of Iredell Health System is to inspire wellbeing. For a comprehensive list of services and programs, visit www.iredellhealth.org.