Kaiser Permanente's Redwood City Hospital Receives Top Safety Score

Kaiser Permanente’s Redwood City hospital received the top score of “A” by the Leapfrog Group in its annual safety report, which examined and graded more than 2,600 hospitals throughout the United States.

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits, released its Hospital Safety Scores after examining publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors and infections at U.S. hospitals, which were then assigned A, B, C, D, or F grades for their safety records.

“These safety scores highlight the high-quality health care that Kaiser Permanente provides to the Redwood City and Southern San Mateo County community,” said Sheila Gilson, Kaiser Permanente Redwood City senior vice president and area manager. “We are proud to receive this recognition as it reflects our ongoing commitment by our physicians, nurses and staff to provide safe care to our patients."

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded in 2000 to work for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability. It is an independent advocacy group working with a broad range of partners, including hospitals and insurers. The Hospital Safety Score, considered the gold standard for rating patient safety in the U.S., is an analysis based on 30 variables, including rates of infections, medication mix-ups and health care-acquired injuries. It uses data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the American Hospital Association, and its own Leapfrog survey.

To see all hospital scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, the Hospital Safety Score website, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay.