A story in today’s Roanoke Times reported on a study by a hospital safety advocacy group, The Leapfrog Group, which surveys hospitals nationwide and assess grades based upon their performance on a range of safety factors. Those factors include timely removal of catheters, hand washing, electronic prescribing, preventing blood clots and infections, and adequate staffing. Important issues for patient safety.
And what grade did Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, the largest hospital in the western half of Virginia, receive? How about a “C.” Not an “A” for excellent….not a “B” for good…but a “C” for just average. I don’t know about you but, if I am going into a hospital for a serious illness or important surgery, I want my hospital go be getting “A’s.”
Take a look at the report. One of the more interesting pieces of information is that three Virginia hospitals owned by Carilion (Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Lexington, Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital in Rocky Mount, and Carilion Tazewell Community Hospital in Tazewell) were not even willing to submit information on which to be graded.
My Question: Do you think those hospitals which declined to submit information for the survey did so because the administrators did not have the confidence to believe their hospital would even have received a grade as high as a “C?” Makes me wonder.