Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Nationally Recognized for Hospital Safety

November 11, 2021

Tacoma and Seattle, Washington – Virginia Mason Franciscan Health was recognized as a leader in patient safety in Washington state with five ‘A’ safety grades across the system, according to the Leapfrog Group’s fall 2021 Hospital Safety Grade report. The national distinction recognizes Virginia Mason Franciscan Health’s achievements in protecting patients from harm and error in the hospital.

“As our care teams continue to manage the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, these high patient safety grades are a testament to our commitment to providing exceptional patient care,” said Ketul J. Patel, CEO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. “We appreciate their unwavering hard work and dedication to caring for our patients and community.”

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over thirty national performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

“We are proud that we maintained our ‘A’ hospital grades and even improved safety grades system-wide,” said Gary S. Kaplan, MD, CEO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.“We look forward to continually improving our quality and safety practices to consistently provide the safest care possible to our communities.”

This represents the 20th consecutive ‘A’ safety grade for Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, which is one of only 23 hospitals in the nation—and the only one in Washington state—to have earned straight A’s from The Leapfrog Group since the Hospital Safety Grade program began in 2012. Other Virginia Mason Franciscan Health hospitals receiving ‘A’ grades include St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor, St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood and St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale. St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way and St. Anne Hospital in Burien received ‘B’ grades.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health is an integrated health system serving the Puget Sound region of Washington state, offering access to some of the country̠s most prestigious experts and hospitals that are internationally known for superior quality. With a team of 18,000 team members, including nearly 5,000 employed physicians and affiliated providers, we unite the brightest health care minds in the region to provide world-class clinical excellence at 11 hospitals and nearly 300 sites of care throughout the Puget Sound area. We are proud to be the home of Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the United States designed specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS, and Benaroya Research Institute, which is internationally recognized for autoimmune disease research. We embrace our community̠s uniquely vibrant, active culture by providing holistic, personalized and patient-centered care. We are committed to caring for the most vulnerable in our communities, including the poor and underserved, providing more than $300 million in community benefit–free, subsidized, and reduced cost health care and programs.

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health was formed in 2021 by bringing together two leading health systems in Washington state. Our family of hospitals includes Virginia Mason Hospital, Seattle; St. Anthony Hospital, Gig Harbor; St. Clare Hospital, Lakewood; St. Elizabeth Hospital, Enumclaw; St. Francis Hospital, Federal Way; St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma; St. Michael Medical Center, Silverdale and Bremerton; St. Anne Hospital, Burien; Rehabilitation Hospital, Tacoma; and Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital, Tacoma. Learn more at www.vmfh.org.

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 and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC 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.