Abington Mem. Hospital Earns 'A' Grade For Safety, Nonprofit Says

ABINGTON, PA — Abington Memorial Hospital received the highest grade possible for patient safety in a new study, according to a nonprofit.

The new analysis on hospital safety in Pennsylvania was released Thursday. The Leapfrog Group, which assesses hospital safety across the country and publishes its findings in the form of letter grades twice a year, released its Fall 2018 safety ratings.

The Leapfrog Group explains that its rating system is focused entirely on errors, accidents, injuries and infections. Leapfrog says more than two-dozen evidence-based measures of patient safety are used to calculate the grades. Applying that information, a numerical score is then created and converted into one of five letter grades.

The nonprofit group found that of the more than 2,600 hospitals graded in the country, 32 percent earned an A grade

Abington earned especially high scores in the following categories, meaning they minimized these events much more so than other hospitals:

• Surgical wounds split open (.55 patients per 1,000)
• Death from serious treatable complications (152.29 per 1,000)
• Collapsed lung (.20 per 1,000)
• Serious breathing problem (7.25 per 1,000)

Abington also scored well in nearly every "Doctors, Nurses, and Hospital Staff" category, including communication with nurses, responsiveness of hospital staff, and effective leadership.

See their full score here.

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