Mercy Recognized for Outstanding Record in Patient Safety Awarded an A in Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score

October 29, 2014

(DURANGO, COLO.) Mercy Regional Medical Center was honored with an A grade in the Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries and infections. The Hospital Safety Scoreis compiled under the guidance of experts on patient safety and is administered byThe Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog. The hospital safety rating is peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the Score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.

The staff and providers at Mercy are focused on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of those who entrust us with their care, said Mercy CEO Tom Gessel. This is a reflection of the effort we make every day to provide the highest quality care guided by best practices and evidence-based medicine.

Patient safety needs to be a 24-7 priority for hospitals, as errors and infections are all too common and often deadly, said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, which administers the Hospital Safety Score. We commend the A hospitals, including Mercy Regional, for helping us to raise the standards of health care nationwide, and demonstrating that theyve made the wellbeing of patients a top priority.

Developed under the guidance of Leapfrogs Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single A, B, C, D, or F score representing a hospitals overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores in fall 2014, with about 31-percent receiving an A grade. The Hospital Safety Score is fully transparent, with a full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades available online.

To see how Mercys score compares locally and nationally, visit the Hospital Safety Score website.

About Mercy Regional Medical Center
Mercy Regional Medical Center is an 82-bed acute care hospital in Durango, Colorado. As a non-profit hospital that is part of the Centura Health network, Mercy is committed to improving the health and wellness of the communities it serves in the Four Corners region. For more information visitMercy Regional Medical Center website.

About Centura Health
Centura Health connects individuals, families and neighborhoods across Colorado, Utah and western Kansas with more than 6,000 physicians and 17,100 of the best hearts and minds in health care. Through our 15 hospitals, six senior living communities, health neighborhoods, physician practices and clinics, home care and hospice services, and Flight For Life Colorado, we are making the regions best health care accessible and affordable in every community we serve. We believe you can inspire the people you care about to live healthier lives by encouraging them to do the little things that can make a big difference. Were Centura Health, and were here for your health. For information about Centura Health or any of the facilities in our network, please visit Centura Health website.

About The Leapfrog Group
The Hospital Safety Score is an initiative of The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.