Delaware hospitals committed to quality and safety transparency

Delaware hospitals have achieved a tremendous milestone with 100 percent participation in the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey, a national employer-led initiative driving healthcare quality and safety improvement through data transparency.

All of Delaware’s hospitals – Alfred I. duPont Hospital, Bayhealth Kent and Sussex campuses, Beebe Healthcare, ChristianaCare Newark and Wilmington campuses, Nanticoke Memorial Hospital and Saint Francis Healthcare – now participate in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, which demonstrates a statewide commitment to transparency in providing patients with safe, quality care.

Leapfrog also publishes a Hospital Safety Grade twice a year, using data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the American Hospital Association and the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Delaware moved from having no “A” Safety Grade hospitals in spring 2019 to four “A” hospitals in fall 2020, demonstrating dramatic improvement.

The Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health serves as Leapfrog regional leader for Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania, coordinating efforts to encourage hospital participation in the voluntary reporting initiative. Over 2,500 hospitals nationwide participate in the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey.

Over the last two years, the Delaware Statewide Benefits Office reached out to the Delaware hospitals previously not participating in the Leapfrog Survey and encouraged them to do so.

“We appreciate that all Delaware hospitals are now disclosing their quality and safety measures in the Leapfrog Survey. As the largest public employer in Delaware, this enables us to have critical information to make more informed purchasing decisions, and to share this information with our employees and retirees. We also commend Delaware hospitals for the improvements seen in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades and their continued commitment to improving healthcare quality and safety in Delaware,” said Faith Rentz, Statewide Benefits and Insurance Coverage director.

Neil Goldfarb, Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health president and CEO, said, “We are pleased that Delaware hospitals have demonstrated leadership in making their performance data publicly available. Studies have shown that hospitals that publicly report their data also are more likely to improve on the reported measures.”

“It has certainly been an interesting and exciting learning curve over the last 18 months, as we developed an understanding of the goals and value of the Leapfrog measures in participating in the annual survey,” said Gary Siegelman, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer for Bayhealth Medical Center. “This has resulted in our Sussex Campus being recognized as a Leapfrog Top Teaching Hospital in 2020, and is a testament to the expertise and dedication of our leaders, students and staff in providing exceptional care for our patients.”