St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea recognized for safety, excellence

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Chelsea

Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, which assigns “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” and “F” letter grades to hospitals nationally for patient safety, last week announced its spring 2021 scorecard. St. Joe's Chelsea is one of only 27 hospitals in the United States to be awarded an “A” grade every grading cycle since 2012. For the 19th consecutive time, St. Joe's Chelsea was awarded an “A” for achieving the highest national standards in patient safety.

"These scores reflect a consistent, high-quality level of service that our patients deserve and have come to expect from our hospital," said Nancy Graebner, president of St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea. "Amid a global pandemic, we are reminded of the fragility of our health and the health of our loved ones. I speak for all St. Joe's colleagues when I say we are doing everything in our power to protect our patients from harm and working hard so that they may achieve the best health outcome possible."

The Safety Grade assigns letter grades 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.

In addition, both St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea hospitals have been named to the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® list.

This is the 12th time that St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor has been named (2021, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2009, 1999, 1996), and the third time that St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea, a joint venture hospital with Trinity Health and Michigan Medicine, has been recognized (2021, 2009, 1993).

St. Joe’s Chelsea has been named #20 in the Top Small Community Hospital category.

“We are thrilled to be on this national list of the top hospitals in the U.S. based on metrics in key areas, including clinical outcomes and patient experience,” said Nancy Graebner, president and CEO, St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea. “St. Joe’s Chelsea is proud to be a small community hospital that delivers consistently exceptional care to residents throughout the surrounding area.”

IBM Watson Health has identified the top hospitals from a rigorous evaluation of 2,675 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals in the U.S. The annual list recognizes excellence in clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience, and financial health. According to IBM Watson Health, as compared to similar hospitals, the hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list had better results on key clinical and operational performance indicators. These include survival rates, patient complications, healthcare-associated infections, 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital-wide readmission rates, length of stay, throughput in emergency departments, inpatient expenses, profitability and ratings from patients.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.