BayCare Hospitals Nationally Recognized with 'As' for the Fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

CLEARWATER, FLA. (December 14, 2020) –  Several BayCare hospitals today were awarded an ‘A’ in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing achievements in protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care.   

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade assigns an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade to all general hospitals across the country and is updated every six months. It is based on a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.

BayCare hospitals that earned an ‘A’ for the Fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade are:

• Bartow Regional Medical Center in Bartow
• Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor
• Mease Dunedin Hospital in Dunedin
• Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater
• Morton Plant North Bay Hospital in North Bay
• South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City
• St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg
• St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa
• St. Joseph's Hospital – South in Riverview

“Our true north and most important metric is always going to be clinical excellence,” said BayCare president and CEO Tommy Inzina.  “Leapfrog results indicate that our operations and clinical teams are in sync.  We have structure and processes in place to deliver safe, effective care to all we serve.  I’m proud to say that in addition to our nine hospitals with As, the other two rated locations earned Bs and all are committed to continuous improvement to provide the highest-quality care for our community.”  

The BayCare hospitals that earned ‘Bs’ are St. Joseph’s Hospital – North in Lutz and Winter Haven Hospital in Winter Haven.

“We are extremely grateful to hospital leadership and health care workers who have remained steadfast in prioritizing patient safety as our nation battles COVID-19,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “These grades are a testament to the care and commitment of those who work for BayCare.  With the current pandemic exposing existing flaws within the U.S. health care system, we appreciate you putting patient safety first. Lives depend on it.” 

Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.

BayCare hospitals were awarded these grade today when Leapfrog updated grades for fall 2020. To see full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook. 

About BayCare Health System
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 15 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information, visit www.BayCare.org.

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 and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC 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.