Ochsner Health is a system that delivers health to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate.
Slidell Memorial Hospital (SMH) and Ochsner Medical Center - North Shore were awarded an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade, announced SMH | Ochsner Chief Executive Officer Kerry Tirman. This designation recognizes efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States.
The Leapfrog Group is a national organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms among patients in their care.
“Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals that focus on advancing patient safety. This ranking provides an important resource for patients, and a benchmark for hospitals, to determine how care at one hospital compares to others in a region,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Hospitals that earn an A Hospital Safety Grade deserve to be recognized for their efforts in preventing medical harm and errors.”
“Achieving an ‘A’ score from Leapfrog is an honor. Doing so consistently requires dedication and a commitment to excellence, said Tirman. “We are very proud of our team for being among an elite group of healthcare providers in the nation.”
Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.
“This is another example of how together, SMH and Ochsner are providing a quality patient experience in east St. Tammany Parish,” said John Herman, CEO, Ochsner North Shore Region. “This high level of recognition could not happen without the continued focus of our physicians, nurses and staff on quality healthcare and patient safety.”
In 2016, SMH and Ochsner forged a strong, integrated partnership with a strategic mission to provide access to high quality care for the people of East St. Tammany Parish and beyond.
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About SMH
Slidell Memorial Hospital is a full-service 223-bed acute care not-for-profit community hospital located at 1001 Gause Blvd., in the heart of Slidell. Founded in 1959, SMH serves as a primary healthcare resource for families in St. Tammany Parish, La.; and Pearl River County, Miss. Slidell Memorial Hospital is in a Joint Operating Agreement (partnership) with Ochsner Health System, allowing for two independent organizations to collaborate and offer better, more cost-effective healthcare for our area. For more information, visit http://www.slidellmemorial.org/. The hospital’s main phone number is (985) 280-2200.
About Ochsner Health System
Ochsner Health is Louisiana’s largest non-profit, academic, healthcare system. Driven by a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate, coordinated clinical and hospital patient care is provided across the region by Ochsner's 40 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and specialty hospitals, and more than 100 health centers and urgent care centers. Ochsner is the only Louisiana hospital recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a “Best Hospital” across three specialty categories caring for patients from all 50 states and more than 70 countries worldwide each year. Ochsner employs nearly 25,000 employees and over 4,500 employed and affiliated physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties, and conducts more than 700 clinical research studies. Ochsner Health is proud to be a tobacco-free environment. For more information, please visit ochsner.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
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 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, 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.