SEATTLE – (Oct. 31, 2017) – Virginia Mason is the only medical center in Washington state –and one of the few in the nation – to have consistently received an A for safety in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade since the program began in 2012.

Today, the Leapfrog Group announced Virginia Mason has again earned an A based on its independent analysis of hospital safety data. Leapfrog assigns safety grades twice a year – in the spring and the fall.

Virginia Mason has earned an A grade 12 consecutive times and is one of only 59 organizations in the United States that has achieved straight-A status in the Leapfrog program.

“Safety is the foundation for quality,” said Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD. “We should never be satisfied with the status quo nor anything less than zero harm. The top grade we have consistently received from Leapfrog affirms our team’s focus on safety makes a difference in the lives of our patients.”

Developed under the guidance of an expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals. The grades are calculated by patient-safety experts, peer-reviewed and available to everyone free of charge.

“We applaud all hospitals that earn an A for safety, which is a significant achievement. Virginia Mason takes that achievement one step further by earning an A year after year,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO, The Leapfrog Group.

Established in 2000 by large employers and other health care 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 collects and transparently reports hospital 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 is designed to help consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

About Virginia Mason Health System
Virginia Mason, founded in 1920, is a nonprofit regional health care system based in Seattle that serves the Pacific Northwest. In the Puget Sound region, the system includes 336-bed Virginia Mason Hospital; a primary and specialty care group practice of more than 500 physicians; regional medical centers in Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Federal Way, Kirkland, Issaquah and Lynnwood; Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the United States designed and built specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS; Benaroya Research Institute, which is internationally recognized for autoimmune disease research; and Virginia Mason Institute, which trains health care professionals and others from around the world in the Virginia Mason Production System, an innovative management methodology for continually improving quality, safety and efficiency. Virginia Mason online: VirginiaMason.org

Virginia Mason Health System also includes Virginia Mason Memorial, a 226-bed hospital serving the Yakima Valley in central Washington since 1950. Memorial online: YakimaMemorial.org

Media Contact:
Gale Robinette
Media Relations Manager
Virginia Mason Health System
(206) 341-1509
gale.robinette@VirginiaMason.org