Florence hospitals maintain top grades
By: Andrew Boardwine
FLORENCE, S.C. — Two Florence hospitals ranked among the best in the state of South Carolina, according to a recent study.
The Leapfrog Group, an independent, national not-for-profit organization founded more than a decade ago by some of the nation’s leading employers and private health care experts, published its most recent Hospital Safety Scores.
Since 2012, the group has published the report cards twice a year—once in the spring and once during fall—taking into account errors, accidents, injuries and infections.
Based on these criteria, both McLeod Regional Medical Center of the Pee Dee and Carolinas Hospital System in Florence were awarded an A.
Both hospitals maintained A’s from spring 2018 grades that were published in April.
Carolinas Hospital System chief nursing officer Costa Cockfield said the organization was pleased to receive the accolade and continues to make safety a top priority.
“Carolinas Hospital System is pleased to have earned an A grade in the Leapfrog update as it recognizes the safe, quality care we provide to our patients,” Cockfield said. “We know that a Leapfrog Safety Score of an “A” can only be accomplished through purposeful, ongoing collaborative work among physicians, clinical and support staff. The systematic delivery of safe and reliable care requires relentless communication that safe care is priority. We continue to be very proud of our employees’ unwavering commitment to patient safety and exemplary care of our patients.”
C. Dale Lusk, M.D., chief medical officer and vice president for medical services of McLeod Regional Medical, said the recognition comes from the hard work the center puts into achieving safety for its patients.
“Quality is a core value for McLeod. Through the leadership of a medical staff committed to reviewing data and implementing robust process improvement methodology, we strive to continually improve the care we provide for the patients we serve,” Lusk said. “This recognition is evidence of the endless work that takes place every day to create a culture of quality and safety for our patients. We compare ourselves to the nation’s best in receiving measurable results and we remain dedicated to providing the highest quality medical care possible to our region.”
Other Pee Dee hospitals included in the study were Carolinas Hospital System- Marion (B); McLeod Health Cheraw (B); and Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center (C). Carolina Pines fell from a B in the spring to a C in the fall. Neither Carolinas Hospital System- Marion nor McLeod Health Cheraw was scored in the spring of 2018.
Of the 46 hospitals that were graded in South Carolina, 14 received an A. The state ranked No. 26 in the nation with 30.43 percent of hospitals receiving an A. The top-rated state was New Jersey (56.72 percent) while Delaware, North Dakota and Washington, D.C., tied for last with no hospital receiving an A grade.
The Pee Dee graded as the top region in the state, with 40 percent of its hospitals receiving A’s and another 40 percent receiving B’s. The region also had the lowest number of hospitals with five.
The Upstate region was second with 38.5 percent of its 13 hospitals receiving an A; the Grand Strand was third with 33.3 percent of its six hospitals receiving an A; the Midlands fourth with 25 percent of 12 hospitals receiving an A; and the Lowcountry last with 20 percent of 10 hospitals receiving an A.
Fifty percent of Midlands hospitals received a C grade while 50 percent of the Lowcountry region received a grade of B. The Upstate had another 38.5 percent of its hospitals receive C grades.
Leap Frog graded more than 2,600 hospitals nationally. Thirty-two percent earned an A, 24 percent earned a B, 37 percent a C, 6 percent a D and just less than 1 percent an F.
