Excela Health Adds Patient Safety to Accolades National Recognition Further Affirms Commitment to Quality Care

GREENSBURG, PA, Dec. 21, 2020 … Excela Health is once again recognized for exceptional patient care, with Excela Westmoreland Hospital receiving an “A” in The Leapfrog Group’s fall 2020 Hospital Safety Grades. The designation recognizes Excela Health’s continuing efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States. The Leapfrog Group is a national organization committed to improving healthcare quality 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 performance in preventing medical errors, infections, and other harms among patients in their care.

Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. Leapfrog’s grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.

Only 121 Pennsylvania hospitals are included in this grading period. Excela Westmoreland is one of 57 earning the “A” ranking. Excela Latrobe Hospital is one of
27 Pennsylvania hospitals achieving a “B” for this evaluation period; Excela Frick Hospital does not have sufficient data to be rated in this program.

“At Excela Health, patient safety and quality care go hand in hand,” noted John
Sphon, Chief Executive Officer. “It takes a strong healthcare team committed to processing improvement to producing meaningful results in the areas of infection reduction and preventable harm, all the while ensuring strong lines of communication between hospital staff, patients, and families. Patient safety is an important element of an effective, efficient healthcare system where quality prevails. Teamwork and adherence to best practices help to ensure that the right care is delivered to the right patient at the right time,” Sphon added.

“Achieving an ‘A’ for patient safety day after day is an extraordinary accomplishment and we congratulate the clinicians, staff, volunteers, and leadership of Excela Health,” said Leah Binder, president, and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We applaud Excela Health for protecting the lives and safety of patients and healthcare workers. Given the immense challenges confronting the American healthcare system as it battles the COVID-19 pandemic, we need all hospitals to demonstrate such relentless dedication to their patients.”

To see more details on Excela Health’s performance, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a
the 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.

About Excela Health:
 

Excela Health, a 578-bed, tertiary-based health System in Westmoreland County, PA,
includes three hospitals – Excela Westmoreland Hospital, Excela Latrobe Hospital, and Excela Frick Hospital – and serves more than 23,000 inpatients, 700,000 outpatients, and 100,000 emergency visits annually. With more than 700 physicians and allied health professionals and 4,800 employees, Excela is a regional leader in clinical areas such as Cardiovascular Disease, Orthopedics, and Emergency Medicine. The System has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report. To learn more, visit www.excelahealth.org.