MOULTRIE, Ga. – Colquitt Regional Medical Center was awarded its 13th consecutive ‘A’ when The Leapfrog Group announced its fall 2020 Hospital Safety Grades. Receiving an ‘A’ signifies that Colquitt Regional has achieved the highest national standards in patient safety.
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.
According to The Leapfrog Group, out of over 2,600 hospitals surveyed, Colquitt Regional was among the 34 percent that earned an ‘A’ grade, followed by 24 percent that received a ‘B’, 35 percent that earned a ‘C,’ seven percent that received a ‘D’, and less than one percent that earned an ‘F.’ Colquitt Regional was also one of 24 hospitals in the state of Georgia to receive an ‘A’ grade.
“Receiving 13 consecutive ‘A’ safety grades is a huge accomplishment, but receiving one during a global pandemic shows just how dedicated our employees are to the safety of our patients,” said Colquitt Regional President and CEO Jim Matney. “Throughout COVID-19, our patient care teams have demonstrated an unprecedented level of care. We are so proud of them and the work they carry out on a daily basis.”
Nurses currently use Lippincott, the most up-to-date, evidence-based care procedures to ensure patient safety is at the forefront of every interaction. There have also been in-house initiatives introduced to promote awareness and/or prevention of common harms and illnesses such as falls, sepsis, and strokes, among others.
In an effort to gain feedback that is used to further enhance the safety of all patients, Colquitt Regional encourages all patients and families to be active participants during their visit by doing bedside shift reporting.
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 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.
Among the 28 measures used to evaluate each hospital, Colquitt Regional earned a perfect score in the following categories: handwashing, effective leadership to prevent errors, staff working together to prevent errors, doctors ordering medications through a computer, enough qualified nurses, infection in the blood, air or gas bubble in the blood, and surgical site infection after colon surgery.
Colquitt Regional also scored 92 percent or higher in the categories of communication about discharge (92 percent), responsiveness of hospital staff (96 percent), communication with nurses (96 percent), and communication with doctors (96 percent).
“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. “This ‘A’ is a testament to the care and commitment of those who work for Colquitt Regional. 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.”
Colquitt Regional was awarded its ‘A’ grade on Dec. 14, when Leapfrog announced grades for the fall 2020 update. To see Colquitt Regional’s full grade details and to view the scores of other hospitals in the region, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.
“The driving force behind our success is our incredible team of employees,” said Hospital Authority Chairman Maureen A. Yearta, Ed.D. “The pandemic has brought many challenges to every health system. From the onset, our team was quick to adapt and implement new protocols and procedures to ensure patient safety continued to be the top priority and that patients still received exceptional care.”
Colquitt Regional is a 99-bed teaching hospital located in Moultrie, Georgia. With over 100 providers, more than 30 specialties and 1,350 employees, Colquitt Regional is committed to providing exceptional healthcare that exceeds expectations for Colquitt County and the surrounding areas.
