Clark Regional Medical Center recently received an ‘A’ in the fall 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.

The A-rating is a national distinction recognizing CRMC’s achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care, according to a news release.

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of health care committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers, according to the release.

The Safety Grade assigns an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade to all general hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.

The A rating marks CRMC’s third A in a row, following an A score in Spring 2019 and Fall 2018.

Aphreikah DuHaney-West, chief executive officer at CRMC, she is pleased to receive the high mark for a third consecutive time.

“It places us among the top tier of hospitals across the country when it comes to patient safety,” DuHaney-West told The Sun. “I’m so proud of our talented team for their continued dedication to delivering high quality care to our community.”

Barbara Kinder, CRMC chief clinical officer, said in the release she was also pleased to receive a ‘A’ for the third time in a row. Kinder said she felt it was a testament to the hard work and dedication of CRMC’s employees and medical staff.

“We take seriously our responsibility to provide high-quality, safe and compassionate care to all who enter our facility and will continue to look for ways that we can even further improve the care we provide and the overall patient experience,” Kinder said in the release.

Other past scores include a C-rating in Spring 2018 and Spring 2016 and a B-rating in Fall 2017, Spring 2017 and Fall 2016.

DuHaney-West said CRMC has implemented a number of best practices and launched new initiatives to keep CRMC on the right track of high-quality care.

One such initiative is the hospital team implemented bedside shift reporting to help ensure clear communication, reduce the risk of errors and maintain consistency of care during shift changes.

DuHaney-West said bedside shift reporting is an effective method for transferring information from one provider to another, while also involving patients in discussions about their health, progress and treatment plan.

CRMC also instituted a daily safety brief among the administrative team, as well as all hospital directors, to ensure leaders have a proactive planning session to address patient safety and staff needs.

DuHaney-West said the hospital even formed a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC), which is a monthly meeting with staff and volunteer patients and family members. The patients, family members and caregivers collaborate with hospital employees — clinical, administrative and support — to provide guidance on how to improve the patient and family experience.

“We integrate the initiatives from the council meetings to further create a safer environment for our community,” DuHaney-West said.

Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in the release ‘A’ hospitals show leadership is protecting patients from preventable medical harm and error.

“It takes genuine commitment at every level — from clinicians to administrators to the board of directors — and we congratulate the teams who have worked so hard to earn this A,” Binder said.

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. 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, according to the release.

CRMC fared mostly better than average compared to other hospitals across the board in the breakdown of its A score.

Though, for the areas it scored below average, DuHaney-West said CRMC is coming up with a targeted plan to improve care in those areas.

“We take seriously our responsibility to provide high quality, safe and compassionate care,” DuHaney-West said. “It is essential to remember that quality measures and performance indicators are ever-evolving. Following evaluation of the areas in which we received lower than expected scores, we are developing a targeted plan and will begin to deploy changes that help us achieve quality improvement benchmarks and establish long-term solutions to sustain results.

“We view quality as a journey, not a destination.”

A breakdown of the ‘A’ score is as follows:

CRMC scored the best possible score for the following ratings:

— CRMC scored a 0.000 compared to the best hospital score of 0.000 for the Dangerous object left in patient’s body rating. The average hospital’s score is 0.018 and the worst hospital’s score is a 0.360.

— CRMC scored a 100 compared to the best hospital score of 100 for the Doctors order medications through a computer rating. The average hospital’s score is 77.10 and the worst hospital’s score is a 5.

— CRMC scored a 60 compared to the best hospital score of 60 for the Handwashing rating. The average hospital’s score is 56.97 and the worst hospital’s score is a 0.

— CRMC scored a 120 compared to the best hospital score of 120 for the Staff work together to prevent errors rating. The average hospital’s score is a 116.65 and the worst hospital’s score is a 0.

— CRMC scored a 0.00 compared to the best hospital score of 0.00 for the Air or gas bubble in the blood rating. The average hospital’s score is 0.001 and the worst hospital’s score is 0.799.

— CRMC scored a 100 compared to the best hospital score of 100 for the Track and reduce risks to patients rating. The average hospital’s score is 0.001 and the worst hospital’s score is 0.799.

— CRMC scored a 120 compared to the best hospital score of 120 for the Effective leadership to prevent errors rating. The average hospital’s score is 117.20 and the worst hospital’s score is 0.00.

— CRMC scored a 100 compared to the best hospital score of 100 for the Enough qualified nurses rating. The average hospital’s score is 97.91 and the worst hospital’s score is 0.00.

CRMC scored above average for the following ratings:

— CRMC scored a 0.346 compared to the best hospital score of 0.000 for C. diff infection rating. Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is a bacterium that can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and fever. Most C. diff cases occur in patients taking or having recently taken antibiotics and fully killing the bacteria in an infected patient can be very difficult, according to Leapfrog. C. diff can spread via contaminated equipment or by providers who fail to properly wash their hands between patients. The average hospital’s score is 0.691 and the worst hospital’s score is a 1.953.

— CRMC scored a 0.93 compared to the best hospital score of 0.51 for the Surgical wound splits open rating. The average hospital’s score is 0.95 and the worst hospital’s score is a 1.51.

— CRMC scored a 0.25 compared to the best hospital score of 0.12 for the Collapsed lung rating. The average hospital’s score is 0.27 and the worst hospital’s score is a 0.47.

— CRMC scored a 6.00 compared to the best hospital score of 1.83 for the Serious breathing problem rating. The average hospital’s score is 7.65 and the worst hospital’s score is a 16.32.

— CRMC scored a 3.24 compared to the best hospital score of 1.54 for the Dangerous blood clot rating. The average hospital’s score is 3.83 and the worst hospital’s score is a 7.24.

— CRMC scored a 1.18 compared to the best hospital score of 0.36 for the Accidental cuts and tears rating. The average hospital’s score is 1.29 and the worst hospital’s score is 2.40.

— CRMC scored an 80 compared to the best hospital score of 90 for the Communication about medicines rating. The average hospital’s score is 77.94 and the worst hospital’s score is a 61.

— CRMC scored an 88 compared to the best hospital score of 94 for the Communication about discharge rating. The average hospital’s score is an 86.60 and the worst hospital’s score is a 70.

— CRMC scored a 0.30 compared to the best hospital score of 0.03 for the Dangerous bed sores rating. The average hospital’s score is 0.49 and the worst hospital’s score is 2.35.

— CRMC scored an 88 compared to the best hospital score of 95 for the Responsiveness of hospital staff rating. The average hospital’s score is 84.34 and the worst hospital’s score is 64.

CRMC scored below average for the following ratings:

— CRMC scored a 75 compared to the best hospital score of 100 for the Safe medication administration rating. The average hospital’s score is 80.28 and the worst hospital’s score is a 5.

— CRMC scored a 0.487 compared to the best hospital score of 0.000 for the Patient falls and injuries rating. The average hospital’s score is 0.436 and the worst hospital’s score is 1.625.

— CRMC scored a 90 compared to the best hospital score of 96 for the Communication with doctors rating. The average hospital’s score is 90.89 and the worst hospital’s score is 79.

— CRMC scored a 90 compared to the best hospital score of 97 for the Communication with nurses rating. The average hospital’s score is 90.90 and the worst hospital’s score is 76.

CRMC scored the worst possible score for the following ratings:

— CRMC scored a 5 compared to the best hospital score of 100 for the Specially trained doctors care for ICU patients rating. The average hospital’s score is 55.61 and the worst hospital’s score is 5.

To see Clark Regional Medical Center’s full grade details, learn how employers can

help and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.

Overall, DuHaney-West said earning this third consecutive ‘A’ grade was a meaningful stamp of approval for the CRMC team.

“We are thrilled to receive this recognition once again,” she said. “It is a privilege to serve as the healthcare leader in east Central Kentucky.”

Moving forward, DuHaney-West said, CRMC will continue to stay laser-focused on further improving the level of quality and patient safety at the hospital.

“We will not waver in our commitment to delivering the best possible care and service to patients, families and visitors,” she said. “We are dedicated to ensuring the people we serve have access to high quality care close to home in Winchester.”