When you need hospital care, you should feel, without question, that you’re in safe hands. At Endeavor Health, we make patient safety our unwavering priority — and we’ve been recognized for it.
This fall, six Endeavor Health hospitals earned “A” grades from The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization that measures how well hospitals protect patients from preventable harm. But what do these ratings really mean for you?
Understanding the ratings
Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades are based on more than 30 national measures that assess how hospitals keep patients safe. The ratings focus on practices that prevent harm, such as:
- Preventing infections
- Safe surgery practices
- Medication safety
- Reducing safety risks
- Quality of care teams
These measures give patients a transparent look at how hospitals are performing, but they also highlight something deeper: an organization’s commitment to improvement, accountability, and the belief that safety is everyone’s responsibility.
A foundation for safe care
At Endeavor Health, safety is indistinguishable from quality. Every “A” represents years of teamwork, investment, and shared learning focused on one goal — helping our patients heal safely and confidently.
“Patient safety is the heartbeat of who we are,” said Lakshmi Halasyamani, MD, Chief Clinical Officer at Endeavor Health. “As one system, we’re learning from every experience and using data, teamwork and transparency to make sure every patient feels safe, seen and supported — no matter where they receive care.”
When our hospitals came together as one unified system, it created an opportunity to share best practices across sites. Each hospital brought its own strengths — whether in nursing excellence, infection prevention or clinical protocols — to create a foundation for safe, seamless and personal care.
Daily safety huddles
To us, safety is both a science and a team effort. Data helps us see where we can improve, but our willingness to work together is what truly makes our hospitals safer. We demonstrate this every day in our hospital safety huddles, where we learn from each other and act quickly when something can be made safer.
These short, focused meetings (which recently expanded to seven days a week) bring together nurses, physicians, pharmacists and hospital leaders to review events from the previous 24 hours and identify potential risks in the day ahead. By sharing timely information, our teams can coordinate solutions, anticipate challenges, and prevent harm before it occurs. It’s a simple practice with powerful impact because when everyone communicates, everyone stays safer.
“These daily huddles bring safety to life,” said Heather Khan, System Vice President of Acute Care Quality at Endeavor Health. “They give our teams the space to raise concerns, share insights and solve problems in real time. It’s how we turn awareness into action and ensure that safe care happens every hour of every day.”
Behind the scenes
Patient safety touches every aspect of care, even the parts you may never see. Here are a few ways Endeavor Health puts safety first:
- Magnet®-recognized hospitals within our system uphold national standards for nursing excellence.
- Infection prevention teams continually monitor practices and outcomes to stop infections before they start.
- Evidence-based nursing bundles help prevent falls, pressure injuries and infections.
- Barcode medication scanning ensures every patient receives the right medication and dosage, every time.
- Patient and Family Advisory Councils ensure the patient voice is part of every safety discussion.
These efforts, and countless others, create an environment where safety and compassion are inseparable. It’s how we turn our commitment into daily practice.
Transparency and trust
Leapfrog grades are one of many tools that can help you make informed decisions about your care. Based on data from the previous year, they show where hospitals excel and where there’s room for improvement. At your next hospital visit, we encourage you to ask a member of your care team:
- How does the hospital keep patients safe during their visit?
- What steps does the hospital take to prevent errors?
- Who should I contact if I have a safety concern during my visit?
At Endeavor Health, we believe transparency builds trust, so we welcome your questions and encourage you to share your experiences and be an active participant in your care.
Your safety is the foundation of everything we do. It’s built into our systems, supported by our teams, and guided by our values. Our “A” grades from Leapfrog are a testament to this commitment.
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