December 14, 2020 – Heywood Hospital was awarded an ‘A’ in the Fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Heywood Hospital’s achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Safety Grade assigns an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade to all general hospitals across the country and is updated every six months. It is based on a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.
Win Brown, President and CEO of Heywood Healthcare said, “We are incredibly proud to receive this national accolade. We strive to provide an exceptional care experience for every patient and their family everyday, without exception. We are also tremendously proud of the care provided at Heywood Hospital's LaChance Maternity Center, recognized as a Newsweek’s Best 2020 Maternity Care Hospital.
“We are extremely grateful to hospital leadership and health care workers who have remained steadfast in prioritizing patient safety as our nation battles COVID-19,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “This ‘A’ is a testament to the care and commitment of those who work for Heywood Hospital. With the current pandemic exposing existing flaws within the U.S. health care system, we appreciate you putting patient safety first. Lives depend on it.”
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. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public.
Heywood Hospital was awarded an ‘A’ grade today when Leapfrog updated grades for Fall 2020. To see Heywood Hospital’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, 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 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 Heywood Hospital
A member of the Heywood Healthcare system, Heywood Hospital is a 134-bed acute care community-owned non-profit hospital in Gardner, MA, providing a broad range of high quality medical, orthopedic, bariatric, surgical, obstetrical, pediatric and behavioral health services on an inpatient and outpatient basis. The hospital’s featured Centers include the Center for Weight Loss & Bariatric Surgery. The Watkins Center for Emergency and Acute Care; the LaChance Maternity Center; the Diabetes Center, and the Heywood Heart and Vascular Center.
About Heywood Healthcare
Heywood Healthcare is an independent, community-owned healthcare system serving north central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. It is comprised of Heywood Hospital, a 134-bed acute care community-owned non-profit hospital in Gardner, MA; Athol Hospital, a 25-bed not-for-profit, Critical Access Hospital in Athol, MA; Heywood Medical Group, with primary care physicians and specialists located throughout the region; and The Quabbin Retreat, our premier destination for treatment of mental health and substance misuse.
The organization includes six satellite facilities in MA: Heywood Rehabilitation Center & Heywood Urgent Care in Gardner, Winchendon Health Center & Murdock School-based Health Center in Winchendon, Tully Family Medicine and Walk-In Care in Athol; and West River Health Center in Orange. The organization also includes the Heywood Healthcare Charitable Foundation. For more information, visit www.heywood.org.