Tucson Standard

Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital issued the following announcement on Dec.

Carondelet St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s Hospitals received “A” ratings in The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2020 Safety Grades released Dec. 14, demonstrating the hospitals’ commitment to delivering safe, high-quality patient care.

The Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Grade is a rating system designed to give consumers information they can use to make healthcare decisions for themselves or a loved one. The Leapfrog Group assigns A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals based on their ability to prevent errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

“We are proud to be recognized by The Leapfrog Group with its top grade for patient safety, which demonstrates our commitment to providing safe, high-quality care among the unprecedented challenges that have surrounded the healthcare industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Carondelet Chief Executive Officer Doug Luckett.

“Every day, we focus on driving improvements in care delivery and patient satisfaction. Our clinical leaders regularly review our hospital’s infection prevention and patient care processes, and compare our data to nationally recognized benchmarks and best practices. Nothing is more important to us than offering our patients trusted care in a safe environment,” said St. Joseph’s Hospital Chief Operations Officer Nikki Castel, MD.

Hospital emergency rooms are open, and doctors want the public to know that delaying emergency treatment can result in additional health complications, especially in the case of heart attack and stroke.

“Even during the coronavirus pandemic, there is still prevalence of stroke, heart attack and emergencies that may warrant intervention. We want to make sure that patients are not afraid to seek help and do not delay necessary care,” said St. Mary’s Hospital Chief Operations Officer Ryan Harper.

“Our community should be reassured that our hospitals and ERs are safe places to help them if they think they may have an emergency. Don’t delay if you think something may be serious or want to assessed by our nurses and clinicians. We are ready and here for you,” Harper added.

Original source can be found here.