BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — National Hospitals Week is set to start soon and we have some good news to report about two of our local hospitals. Adventist Health Bakersfield and Bakersfield Memorial Hospital both received an 'A' grade for safety.
Adventist Health for the 12th time in a row since 2017 has been nationally recognized with an 'A' Leapfrog safety grade. The distinction recognizes achievements in protecting patients from preventable harm and error in the hospital.
The Leapfrog Group is a national non-profit upholding the standard of patient safety in hospitals around the country.
"For more than 20 years, The Leapfrog Group has collected, analyzed, and published hospital data on safety and quality in order to push the health care industry forward. Leapfrog’s bold transparency has promoted high-value care and informed health care decisions—and helped trigger giant leaps forward in the safety, quality, and affordability of U.S. health care," said the Leapfrog Group website.
The spring 2023 grades reflect performance primarily during the height of the pandemic.
23ABC spoke with the chief medical officer from Adventist Health, Dr. Ghassan Jamaleddine, who said COVID was their biggest challenge but takes pride in how his team worked through it.
"You know having the mindset again of always addressing safety. I always tell people do not rush. Sometimes we have to be quick but do not rush. Make sure you are safe, our patients are safe, work as team, ask for help. We do a great deal of huddles and we discuss what we can do better. People can speak up about safety issues. When you see something, say something. This was really how we were able to overcome this period with COVID and it was very, very challenging. But I'm so proud."
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital also received an 'A' safety grade from Leapfrog.
Leapfrog Group's "Hospital Safety Grade Results" are based on more than 30 national performance measures and are updated each fall and spring.
