HJBR Jul/Aug 2019

56 JUL / AUG 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of Baton Rouge   Hospital Rounds safest hospitals is a result of our committed culture and the entire team’s daily pursuit of excellence,” said K. Scott Wester, president and CEO of Our Lady of the Lake. “Whether its patient safety ini- tiatives such as using new wireless technology to reduce falls or hourly patient-centered rounding to involve the family and full clinical team in the plan-of-care, we never stop improving and inno- vating on behalf of the communities we serve.” The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit orga- nization committed to improving health care qual- ity 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 per- formance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections, and other harms to patients in their care.  “To be recognized nationally as an ‘A’ hospi- tal is an accomplishment the whole community should take pride in,” said Leah Binder, presi- dent and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Hospi- tals that earn an ‘A’ grade are making it a prior- ity to protect patients from preventable medical harm and error. We congratulate hospital leaders, board members, staff, volunteers and clinicians who work so hard to earn this ‘A’.”  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. 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.  As part of its culture of safety, Our Lady of the Lake conducts daily interdisciplinary team huddles and weekly patient safety rounds that engage front line teammembers, physicians, and residents in quality and patient safety focused ini- tiatives. Patients and families are also involved through Patient and Family Advisory Councils, where they provide feedback, partnership, and insight from their unique perspective.  "A supportive and blame-free environment welcomes every person to identify and contrib- ute to patient safety," said Chris Thomas, MD, Our Lady of the Lake Medical Director of Qual- ity and Patient Safety. "Awards are nice and are Ochsner Grove Ribbon Cutting