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The following press release was issued by UP Health System–Portage:
Hancock, MI, May 21, 2019 – UP Health System – Portage has been awarded an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2019 Hospital Safety Grade. The designation recognizes UP Health System – Portage’s efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States. The Leapfrog Group is a national organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms among patients in their care.
“We have implemented a number of quality-based initiatives,” said Randy Neiswonger, CEO of UPHS – Portage. “Through these best practices, we are able to reduce errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. This creates a much safer environment for our patients and employees.”
“Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals like Portage that focus on advancing patient safety. This ranking provides an important resource for patients, and a benchmark for hospitals, to determine how care at one hospital compares to others in a region,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Hospitals that earn an A Hospital Safety Grade deserve to be recognized for their efforts in preventing medical harm and errors.”
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. hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.
UPHS – Portage was just one of 26 hospitals in Michigan to receive an A.
“I would like to thank all of our employees and medical staff for their hard work and dedication,” Neiswonger continued. “We’ve made huge strides in quality and patient safety in recent years, and it’s because of their tireless commitment to our patients and communities across the Copper Country.”
UPHS – Marquette earned a B, while UPHS – Bell does not receive a Leapfrog letter grade due to its designation as a critical access hospital.
To see full grade details, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.
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 collects and transparently reports hospital 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.
About UP Health System – Portage
UP Health System – Portage supports a multi-specialty group of over 40 physicians, over a dozen allied health professionals and has been serving the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan since 1896. The main campus is a 36-bed hospital, a verified chest pain center through the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC) and possesses the area’s only Open Bore MRI. UP Health System – Portage was home to the first Level III ACS (American College of Surgeons)-verified trauma center and emergency department in the state.
Other services include a dedicated physician for hospital stays, cardiopulmonary, arthroscopic surgery, emergency orthopedics, sports medicine, x-ray & diagnostics, certified sleep disorder center, Express Care walk-in clinic, regional dialysis unit, pharmacy, 64-slice CT scanner, nuclear imaging, digital mammography, radiological and laboratory services, rehab, home care and hospice, and a 60-bed senior living community.
