The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of health care, today announced the spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. Michigan Medicine is one of only 27 hospitals in the United States to be awarded an “A” grade every grading cycle since 2012. For the 19^th consecutive time, Michigan Medicine was awarded an “A” for achieving the highest national standards in patient safety.

“At Michigan Medicine, we are so proud of receiving this recognition,” said David Miller, M.D., M.P.H., president of the University of Michigan Health System and executive vice dean for clinical affairs for the U-M Medical School. “Our exemplary performance in this program reflects our core values, which include caring, innovation and teamwork. All across our organization, we have remarkable teams that work together and innovate to reduce serious safety events. They also help our patients avoid hospital-acquired conditions, administer medications safely and collaborate to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients receiving the most complex care.” 

The Safety Grade assigns letter grades of “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” and “F” to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections, and other harms. 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 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Leapfrog Group’s grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.

“We have been on a high-reliability journey of safety for the past several years,” said Nancy May, D.N.P., RN-BC, NEA-BC, chief nurse executive for the U-M Health System. “All of our employees have been trained on the key concepts of high reliability and they came in handy during the pandemic. We used many unique tools to prioritize the safety needs of our patients and prevented many potential adverse events. We also empowered our employees to speak up, and we take everyone’s voices very seriously when looking into deeper issues that may exist to prevent harm.”

To see more details on Michigan Medicine’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 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 Michigan Medicine: At Michigan Medicine, we advance health to serve Michigan and the world. We pursue excellence every day in our three hospitals, 125 clinics and home care operations that handle more than 2.3 million outpatient visits a year, as well as educate the next generation of physicians, health professionals and scientists in our U-M Medical School.

Michigan Medicine includes the top ranked U-M Medical School and the University of Michigan Health System, which includes the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, University Hospital, the Frankel Cardiovascular Center and the Rogel Cancer Center. Michigan Medicine’s adult hospitals were ranked no. 11 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report in 2020-21 and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital was the only children’s hospital in Michigan nationally ranked in all 10 pediatric specialties analyzed by U.S. News and World Report for 2020-21. The U-M Medical School is one of the nation's biomedical research powerhouses, with total research funding of more than $500 million.