Burlingame Hospital Receives 'A' in Hospital Safety Grades

BURLINGAME, CA – Of the seven hospitals in San Mateo County recently graded on patient safety, three were listed as "average" when it comes to overall patient safety, according to a report released this week by a nonprofit founded by employers and health care providers. However, a Burlingame facility stood above those, with a top score.

The Leapfrog Group has announced its fall 2016 hospital safety rankings, a measure of how safe a hospital is for patients. At the state level, California was ranked 26th in the nation in the latest Hospital Safety Grade report. Hawaii was ranked number one.

More than 2,600 hospitals were graded across the United States, 266 of which are in California. A total of nine hospitals in the state received an "F" grade in the report — fortunately, for us, none of them are in the Peninsula region.

In California, there are 81 "A" hospitals up and down the state. There are another 63 "B" hospitals and 88 "C." The remaining 25 hospitals that were ranked in California received a "D."

Here in Burlingame, Mills-Peninsula Health Services received an "A" overall score. As for the rest of the county, the below listed hospitals were ranked as follows:

• Mills-Peninsula Health Services, Burlingame: A
• Sequoia Hospital, Redwood City: A
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco: A
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City: B
• San Mateo Medical Center, San Mateo: C
• Seton Medical Center Coastside, Moss Beach: C
• Seton Medical Center: Daly City: C

To compile its rankings, the Leapfrog Group uses "30 evidence-based measures of patient safety," including things like patient injuries, accidents and infections. Numerical scores are converted into letter grades. Of the 2,633 hospitals evaluated nationwide, 844 earned an “A,” 658 earned a “B,” 954 earned a “C,” 157 earned a “D” and 20 earned an “F."

According to the report, Mills-Peninsula scored high in things like:

• Communication about medicines
• Communication about discharge
• Staff accurately recording patient medications
• Responsiveness of hospital staff
• Effective leadership

Hospitals given a B rating by Leapfrog had a 9 percent higher risk of avoidable death than A hospitals. That number jumps to 35 percent in C hospitals and 50 percent higher in D and F hospitals.

Leapfrog says that if you experience a medical emergency, patients should always go to the nearest hospital, no matter the grade.

• SEE ALSO: California's Safest, And Least Safe, Hospitals As Found in Health Report Card: Full List

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